Daniel (An X-Men Story)
by Agreene
Summary: This story is about Daniel Howlett, the son of Logan and Ororo.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: Introduction

The Xavier Mansion, home to the X-Men team sits on its own five hundred and eighty foot property. Professor Charles Xavier the owner of the Xavier mansion and property is the head master to the Xavier school for the gifted had his property expanded. He  
had four smaller homes and a smaller mansion like home built for his pupils.

Scott Summers aka Cyclops, Jean Grey aka Pheonix, Ororo Munroe aka Storm, Logan Howlett aka Wolverine, Alex Summers aka Havok, Emma Frost aka Frost, Rion Munroe aka Mystro, Megan Goodwyn aka Pixie, Kurt Wagner aka Nightcrawler, Remy LeBeau aka Gambit,  
Hank McCoy aka Beast and Warren Worthington the third aka Angel all live in their own homes on the mansion grounds. Professor had the property expanded to accommodate his growing family.

Scott and Jean have one of the smaller homes of their own since they are married with two sons Nathan (11) and Tyler (9).

Emma and Alex have their own smaller home as well because they are married with a son Alexander Jr. (8) of their own.

Rion and Megan also have a home of their own since both are married with twin boys Owen and Matthew (8).

Logan and Ororo are married with eight children. That's right eight. They live in the mansion like home that Logan had built for his growing family and now all ten of them live in the mansion home.

Ororo adopted John when he was a baby. She met and fell in love with T'Challa the king of Wakanda and was about to marry him but she became pregnant before their marriage. This was frowned upon by his people and T'Challa was forced to choose between Ororo  
or being the king. He chose to stand by his own people. Ororo took John and her newborn son Azari and came back to New York. A couple of years later she met Logan.

She and Logan fell in love while being X-Men teammates. John and Azari instantly clicked with Logan who they looked up to as a father figure. Both brothers had Scott, Alex and Rion looking after them but it wasn't the same. They were merely uncles to  
them. They needed a father figure. Professor Xavier acted as a grandfather to them while Jean, Emma and Megan were their aunts.

Logan knew how much him spending time with her boys would mean to Ororo. Soon the two married in a private ceremony. Logan then adopted both John and Azari becoming their legal parent. Ororo would give birth to her third child. Children is the more appropriate  
term. Logan's first biological children are twins. Boys they named Daniel Jacob Anthony Howlett and David Joshua Benjamin Howlett. Logan's third biological child the fourth born to Ororo was a little girl they named Kendall Louise Rachel Howlett.  
Ororo would then give birth to her fifth child Logan's fourth, another son named Lucas Patrick Kenneth Howlett. That made six children. James Logan Michael Howlett Jr. was seventh and Oliver Kevin Henry Howlett was the eighth and last to be born.  
So yeah to say that Ororo and Logan needed a bigger space was an understatement. Ororo had her tubes tide after Oliver was born.

Their home looks like a second mansion next to Professor Xavier's. It has a big kitchen, livingroom, all the amenities that comes with the downstairs area. The second floor where the kids' room are The master bedroom belonging to Logan and Ororo  
and is on the third floor. Their bedroom has its own floor on purpose. Logan made sure to make the walls sound proof due to his and Ororo's love making.

There are six rooms. The first belongs to John. The one across from his is Kendall's. Across the hall from hers belongs to Lucas, James Jr. and Oliver. Next to Kendall's room is David's and across from his is Daniel's room. Next to David's room is Azari's  
room. Each bedroom in the house has its own bathroom so no one fights over the bathroom. Logan did that on purpose as well.

Logan built two balconys that is on his and Ororo's bedroom and there are stairs that lead down to the ground floor to the backyard. The stairs also connects to the second balcony to the kids' rooms as well. The second balcony spans all the way around  
to the kids's rooms making it easier to get to them if they needed help. Each of them can see the back and front yards depending on what room their in. There's also a stair case behind the master bedroom that leads to the garage in case the kids think  
about sneaking out. Logan's sensitive hearing could pick up on it.

Yes the Xavier mansion looked cooler, bigger and expanded.

This story is not about the mansion or the X-Men team but merely about a young teen who is the son to two of the X-men team members. This story is about young Daniel Howlett. 


	2. Chapter 2

The sun rose on a cool September morning. School wouldn't be starting for a few days and the kids are to get a jump on shopping. Daniel Howlett awoke from his slumber. He is the first of six biological children to Ororo and Logan. Third born of eight.  
Daniel has a big bedroom to himself with his identical twin brother David across the hall from him. David is the polar opposite of him. While Daniel would rather help, David will help if asked. Daniel is slightly mentally delayed and does his best  
to try keeping up with his siblings. He does homework despite being a bit slower mentally and always wants to help his classmates. Daniel attends a special school for kids who are mentally delayed and his teachers love him. Professor Xavier wanted  
to hire a teacher to work with Daniel but Logan and Ororo didn't want that. They wanted Daniel as well as their other children to learn to be aron around others their own age despite having powers. Jean, Scott, Emma, Alex, Megan and Rion all agreed  
thus the reason their children attend school away from the mansion. Professor Xavier was worried that the students would use their powers in public but that hasn't happened.  
David is Daniel's opposite. He is gifted intellectually and is popular. His intellect is part of his mutation. David was always smart but his mutation enhanced it. In fact he hates doing his homework despite being smart and athletically gifted.  
Daniel like his siblings and parents is a mutant. While his siblings have at least one mutation, he was born with fourteen different abilities.  
John possesses the ability of Pyrokinesis, thus the reason his X-Men name is Pyro.  
Azari has abilities like T'Challa super speed and agility and can fight. He also is a half mutant having superhuman abilities.  
David has ominilinguism and advanced Intelelect.  
Kendall discovered she has abilities like Ororo being able to control the weather and is learning to keep her emotions in check. Ororo is teaching her to use her abilities.  
Lucas discovered he has abilities like Logan. He has razor sharpe bone claws, rengerative healing, and animal-like senses.  
James has telekinetic abilities and can teleport. He has the combined abilities of Jean and Kurt. Kurt has smoke when he disappears. James just disappears and reappears where he wants to. He's not as strong with his telekinesis as Jean is but is developing  
his abilities.  
Oliver has crynokinectic and hydrokinectic abilities. He's a lot like Bobby in the sense that he can make anything cold but can also control water. He's learning to control both of his abilities.  
Daniel always knew he was special. He isn't just slow he also has a speech impediment. It makes him sound different and he doesn't like the word retarded. He does however know he's special as a mutant. He discovered his abilities just four years ago.  
He discovered he could heal himself. He cut his arm in school and by the time he got to the nurse's office his cut had healed.  
Daniel discoverd he could create force fields. Something he discovered when his sister fell off the roof and he stuck his hand out to help her and the force field he created saved her.  
Daniel also discovered he has kinetic energy using all energy the way he sees fit.  
He has all of the vision abilities from telescopic vision to radar. He's a techno path being able to understand, build and reconstruct all technical devices.  
Daniel can levitate and fly, he can cloak himself as well as everyone else, create seismic enegery blasts, control and manipulate electricity and create portals.  
While his siblings have their parents to help with learning how to control their abilities, Daniel had to learn on his own. He felt bad that they hadn't really invested much time with him. He takes comfort in his martial arts training having recently  
earned his second degree brown belt under his uncle Rion. Though he's taken longer to earn his belts, he still loves to train. He's not the only one with a martial arts belt in the house. John, Azari, David, Kendall, Lucas, James Jr. and Ollie are  
black belts. John and Azari are third degree black belts while Kendall, Lucas, James Jr. and Oliver recently earned their black belts. Daniel is the only one who isn't a brown belt.  
Rion even trained Ororo who owns a fourth degree black belt. Logan can hold his own. To put it plain and simple the Howletts and Munroes are a family of martial artist.  
Between he and David, Daniel has always been the odd one out. For as long as he could remember he always wanted to use his gifts to help people. David on the other hand would rather not get involved. Daniel wants to someday become an X-Men like his parents,  
aunts and uncles. That's why he trains as hard as he does despite his handicap. David never understood it and doesn't support it.  
Now fourteen, Daniel is very fit for a kid his age. He loves sports but would rather workout or read. He's also hit puberty and does his best to try getting a girlfriend. That hasn't worked out well for him. He tries to get a girlfriend at the special  
school he attends but it hasn't worked out for him.  
For David, he has no trouble getting girls or being popular. In fact he is very popular and is courting a young woman in his school. David also pitches on his school's baseball team and has gone on to win the championship.  
Daniel gets out of bed stretches his five feet eight inch frame. Daniel looks like a combination of both Logan and Ororo. His skins complexion is tanned like Ororo's, he has green and bluish eyes and his hair is thick and curly, a little like Logan's  
but with white streaks in it. Daniel has muscularly toned psyche. He's not as toned as his brothers and father but still in great shape.  
David is his identical twin only he's more muscularly toned like his father but a little leaner. in fact, David isn't the only Howlett male who is in great shape. Azari and John are also in great shape. And there's Logan who is in the best shape of all  
the Howlett men. David keeps his hair in a ponytail. David knows he looks good.  
His brothers and sister know how good looking they are all keep in great shape with their martial arts training and extra sports activities.  
The Howletts are indeed a good looking family. John who doesn't look like his parents but has his own unique style to him. He's eighteen and will be starting college in a week.  
Azari looks like Ororo. His hair is cut short and he to has a well toned body. He's sixteen and almost ready for college. Azari is six feet tall and on the football team. He's no slouch when it comes to the opposite sex either.  
Kendall is twelve and already has boys chasing her because of her fit body. Like Daniel, her skin is tanned. Her hair is black with white streaks which is long flowing down her shoulders and her eyes is bluish green. She's four feet eleven.  
Lucas is the same height as Kendall. He's got the same color tanned skin, eyes and hair but his hair is curly like Daniel. He to is pretty fit for it kid his age mainly due to his love of skateboarding and other sports. At age eleven Lucas has begun to  
hit puberty and has no problem talking to girls as he is very social.  
James Jr. looks just like Logan with his short cut hair with white streaks in it and his skin is lighter than that of Daniel, Kendall and Lucas. He's shorter than Lucas, has bluish green eyes and also keeps in shape for an ten year old. He loves sports  
and loves spending time with his father helping Logan with the manual labor.  
Oliver is the shortest of his siblings. Oliver's hair is short but curly at the top with a single white streak in it. His skin is identical to James' and his eyes have the same bluish green to them as his siblings. Oliver is the geek and bookworm of his  
siblings but make no mistake he to is fit for his age having been studying martial arts.  
After brushing his teeth and using the toilet, Daniel heads downstairs to the kitchen still wearing his pajamas. He knew he didn't need to be ready for school since the school. School doesn't open for another few days.  
He decides to fix breakfast for everyone. Being a little slow, Daniel figured after watched Ororo and Logan make breakfast that he could do it on his own. One of the things he could do was cook. Something he picked up watching Ororo with ladies of the  
mansion. He begins to remove the pots and pans from the cubbards. He takes out the batter for pancakes, the eggs and waffles as well as the bacon. He begins to make the pancakes first while frying the bacon and putting the waffle batter in the waffle  
maker. Knowing that he has seven siblings and two parents, Daniel knew he'd have to make a lot of food so that's what he did. He's so emersed in cooking that he hadn't heard Ororo behind him.  
"What are you doing?" Ororo asked looking pissed.  
"Huh?" Daniel asked spinning to see his mother pissed off.  
"What are you doing?" Ororo asked. She was frowning with her hands on her hips. Daniel knew that look all too well.  
"I was making breakfast. Wanna help me?" He offered his speech a little delayed. Ororo rolled her eyes.  
"Making a mess this early." Ororo complained as she made her way over to the stove. "Move." She said as Daniel moved from the stove. He watched her as she finished what he was trying to do.  
"Ma let me help. I've watched you cook enough to know what to do." Daniel said.  
"No Daniel. I got this. Go get ready. We're all going shopping in a while. Wake your brothers and sister up." Ororo said continuing to cook. Ororo didn't want Daniel making a mess. Truth be told, she didn't want Daniel doing anything because he is mentally  
delayed. Daniel backed up from the kitchen and ran up the stairs. He felt bad. He wanted to make breakfast for everyone but Ororo shut him down. He knocks on John's door.  
"Johnny wake up." Daniel called to him.  
"Go away bugger." John yelled.  
"Mom says get up." Daniel yelled back. He went to Azari's door and banged on it yelling for him to get up. He did the same for David, Kendall, Lucas, James Jr. and Oliver. All had gotten up and headed downstairs. Daniel went up to his parents bedroom  
and knocked on the door to the master bedroom. "Dad." He called to his father. Logan was still asleep. "Dad. Mom's making breakfast. Time to wake up."  
"Get away." Logan said.  
"Dad." Daniel said.  
"I said get away!" Logan yelled. Daniel backed up out of the room. He went back downstairs into his room and began to get dressed.  
Once done, Daniel came downstairs, everyone was downstairs eating breakfast. Even Logan who had gotten up. Everyone is still in their pjs. Daniel looked on hurt. He sat down at the table with his plate. There wasn't much food left. There was one pancake  
left with a strip of bacon.  
"Hey, where's my breakfast." Daniel asked. No one answered. "Mom, can I make more bacon?" He asked.  
"There is no more slow-poke." David said.  
"There is no more bacon. I have to go food shopping later on." Ororo said.  
"That's not fair!" Daniel yelled before getting up from the table and went to his room. Ororo noticed this and immediately felt bad. Here he was trying to make breakfast for his family and ends up going without.

Everyone had gotten dressed with the exception of Daniel who was already dressed. They all loaded into the family van and it was John who got to drive while Logan sat in the passenger seat. Logan and John were chatting about girls, cars and sex. Of course  
Logan had to be careful because Ororo could hear them. He was always honest with his boys when it came to talking about sex. Daniel watched the scene before him. He sees Ororo who is sitting in the seat behind Logan chatting with Kendall about girl  
stuff no doubt. He could see Azari and David two seats ahead of him talking about football, martial arts and skateboarding, their three favorite sports. Lucas, James Jr and Oliver are in the seat ahead of him battling each other while playing video  
games. He realized everyone had someone to talk to. He didn't. It pained him to see how close his siblings are to each other and to their parents. He didn't have that. He focused his attention on the scenery out the window.  
Ororo looked back at him feeling bad for how she treated him. All he wanted to do was make breakfast for the family but she kicked him out the kitchen and didn't even let him help her cook. To make matters worse, Daniel hadn't gotten a chance to eat.  
They left him a piece of bacon and a pancake. That's not how you treat family. Kendall was talking a mile a minute but noticed that Ororo's attention was on Daniel. She didn't like that one bit.  
"Mom are you listening to me?" Kendall asked.  
"Yes honey." Ororo said snapping her attention back to Kendall who then continues her rant about school and seeing her friends again.

Logan and Ororo shopped for clothes for the children. Everyone was allowed five outfits. Of course the guys all brought jeans, shirts, socks underwear while Kendall brought her girl outfits making sure she coordinated her outfits. Ororo brought her a  
new pair of earrings to go with her outfits. Azari had picked out five jeans as well as his favorite shirts, sweat shirts and tanks. John picked out basic stuff. Lucas and Oliver did the same. James Jr. followed Azari's footsteps getting the latest  
gear. David picked out cool clothes including Sean John jeans. Daniel picked out his favorite color jeans as well as t-shirts, sweat shirts and tanks. They then went to footlocker and picked out their sneakers in their size.  
After shopping, the family decided to grab lunch at the food court. Daniel watched as everyone was paired off talking with one or another. He watched as Kendall and Ororo were arm and arm while eating salads. The two were laughing as they ate with one  
hand. Azari and John were clowning around with their chicken nuggets and fries. James Jr. and Lucas tried to race each other eating their fish sticks. David, Logan and Oliver looked on amused and disgusted at the same time. It was Ororo who spoke  
up having turned her attention to her fish sticks eating boys.  
"Becareful you two don't choke on your food." Ororo said.  
"I'd pay money to see that." Azari said then making a gagging sound causing laughter from the group.  
"Hopefully they don't belch while choking." David sarcastically.  
"Hahaha." Lucas said sarcastically.  
"Don't be disgusting you two." Kendall said to them. James stuck out his tongue filled with food particles. "Eeewwwll!" She said turning up her nose. Lucas laughed after swollowing his food.  
"Do that bugger thing you do with your nose?" John asked encouraging James Jr.  
"Oh no." Kendall said.  
"Yeah that thing with the bugger flying from his nose." Azari said laughing.  
"Alright." James Jr. said.  
"Oh god. Don't encourage him." Ororo said frowning slightly annoyed.  
"This is gonna be funny." Lucas chimed him.  
James snorts in buggers through his nose and hocks it through his nose and before it can come out he snorts it back into his nose and swallows it. John, Azari, and Lucas all laughed. Logan and Ororo shook their heads in disgust. Kendall felt like she  
wanted to gag. Oliver smirked.  
"Nasty." Kendall said frowning.  
"That's talent." David said as they laughed.  
"Neat trick bro." Daniel said deciding to speak. He was met with disgusted looks from Kendall, Ororo, Logan and Oliver.  
"You would think that." Kendall said.  
"The first thing you say all morning and that had to be it." Logan said. Daniel looked away hurt.  
"I spoke earlier." Daniel said.  
"Yeah you said 'Hey where's my breakfast.'" David said mocking his twin brother.  
"Yeah and then you said 'Ma can I fix more bacon?'" John said adding to the mocking.  
"Finally he said 'It's not fair.'" Lucas said as they laughed. Ororo and Logan noticed the look on Daniel's face. He was hurt that they mocked him. He went back to eating his food.  
"He's been quiet all morning." Azari said.  
"Why so quiet Danny?" Lucas asked. Daniel looked at him angrily.  
"Leave me alone." Daniel said.  
"He's mad cause we teased him. Get over it." David angrily. Daniel didn't even respond. Ororo felt bad. She didn't like it when his siblings teased course her and Logan's attitude towards him didn't help either, though neither noticed. They knew  
he's a bit slow and to make fun of him wasn't right.  
"I can't wait to get back to school." Kendall said.  
"Me to." David said.  
"He's probably thinking about Candice Barkley." Kendall teased smiling.  
"Am not." David responds.  
"Who's Candice?" Ororo asked.  
"No one." David answered coyly.  
"A girl in his class he's so crushing on." Kendall said.  
"It's not like that." David lied. He was in love with this girl.  
"Oh yeah then how come you doodle her name on your notebook?" Lucas asked.  
"Oh is that right?" Logan asked. David looked away smirking. John and the others laughed. "What do you think Roh? We have anything to worry about with Davey?" Ororo smirked looking her son over.  
"God I hope not." Ororo said as the other laughed.  
"I hope so." David said as they laughed. "Now Daniel you don't have to worry about."  
"Really?" Ororo asked. David shook his head. "Why's that?" She asked.  
"He'll never get laid." David said as John, Azari, Lucas and James laughed. Logan shook his head amused. Oliver smirked but had no idea what his brother was talking about. Daniel said nothing.  
"Nah. He's a good boy right Daniel?" Ororo asked.  
"Yes ma'am." Daniel said as John, Azari and Lucas laughed.  
"Kiss ass." John said laughing as he and Azari high fived each other.  
"Watch your mouth." Logan said. John smirked.  
"Daniel will be a good boy cause no girl knows he's alive." Kendall said as they laughed. Daniel's cheeks turned red.  
"He can't even talk to a girl." Lucas said. "He stammers through every sentence. Everything is 'Bbbbbb ddddddd.'" He said the laughter continued. Daniel felt like crap. He dropped his head staring at his food suddenly losing his appetite. Ororo noticed  
this.  
"Guys ease up off your brother." Ororo said.  
"You know we're just funning you D." Lucas said.  
"Whatever." Daniel said. He didn't like the fact that his family would tease him. And why did Ororo say she had nothing to worry about with him? Maybe it was because Lucas was right. Whenever Daniel tried talking to girls he stuttered. What was he to  
do? 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Mutant Powers

The Howlett clan arrived back home with their bags taking them to their rooms. Daniel was slow about it. Jean, Emma and Megan came into the Howlett house. Ororo made them drinks as the women sat in the living room.

"I see you and Logan took the kids shopping." Jean said.

"Yep. I think we spent more on them this year than last." Ororo said.

"Yeah I took Matt and Owen shopping and damned if I didn't spend damn near $600." Megan said.

"I spent $400 on both Nate and Tyler at Walmart." Jean said.

"Thank god I didn't spend all but $450 on Lex." Emma said to them.

"That's still expensive." Megan said.

"I thought it would be more. Alex gave me his credit card and said just spend $500. I was glad it wasn't more. Of course I had to get me some heel." She said as the girls laughed.

"I think I'll shop for Logan and I tomorrow." Ororo said as they laughed. "I still have to go food shopping later."

"As if you didn't spend enough money already." Jean said.

"You know." Ororo said getting a bottle of water then sitting on the couch.

"Kids are more expensive the older they get." Megan said.

"Amen. I should know. I got eight of them." Ororo said as they chuckled.

"Hey aunties." Daniel said greeting his aunts. His speech impediment is heard in his voice.

"I see you went shopping?" Megan said looking at his bags.

"Yep." Daniel said.

"Got everything you needed?" Jean asked.

"Yes ma'am." Daniel said.

"His siblings teased him earlier." Ororo said.

"Really? Why?" Megan asked.

"They think I can't get girls. I'm handsome enough. I can get a girl." Daniel said.

"Of course you can." Megan said.

"Then how come you don't have girlfriend?" Jean asked.

"Cause he's a dork and stutters." David said. Daniel looked on hurt.

"Stop it." Jean said scolding David.

"What its true." David smirking.

"Says the one son that has a crush." Ororo said smirking. David blushed. "What was her name? Oh right Candice Barkley."

"Ooh lala!!!" Emma teased. Jean and Megan laughed. David smirked.

"It's not like that. She's just a classmate." David said defending himself.

"Mm-hmmm." Emma said as David laughed.

"You think you have a shot with Candice?" Jean asked.

"Oh yeah. I'm gonna get her to be mine." David said.

"He's a little playa." Megan said as they laughed.

"You know it." David said smiling.

"Well just keep it in your pants boy." Ororo said. "The last thing I want is a little you running around here." She said.

"Oh don't worry about that ma. The girl doesn't even know he's alive." John said smirking. David frowns shaking his head.

"Whatever." David said playfully shoving John.

"What I say?" John asked smiling as he and David shoved each other playfully. Daniel watched and felt bad. David and John have a bond that he doesn't have with his own twin. It hurt. Daniel turned and went to his room.

Daniel took his clothes out the bags and began to put them away. He began to thinking his situation. David was right. No girl in his school had known he was alive despite the fact that he has the same class with them. Daniel couldn't be social. He really didn't know how.

When it came to school, Daniel is by far the smartest kid in his class but is often isolated. Because he attends a special school, Daniel tends to excel. He's not like most kids his age. Most kids his age had friends amongst their peers and their siblings loved them. Daniel doesn't have either of those things. He doesn't feel a connection to his siblings except when he's the brunt of jokes nor does he have friends.

He will often seek connections with his cousins Matt and Owen but both are James and Oliver's age and spent more time with them. Nathan spends time with Lucas since their the same age. Tyler and Lex are often seen with Matt, Owen, James and Oliver as the four cousins would have sleep overs.

Daniel would try to join in but was pushed away. Kendall would have girl days with Ororo, Jean, Megan and Emma would often join them. She'd even spend her time with Rogue, Kitty, Jubilee and Theresa. Of course he'd would try to join them even offering himself as a dummy to practice putting make up on but he was pushed away.

Azari would often spend time with John and most times that included Bobby, Peter and Evan. Again Daniel would try to join the guys but would feel isolated.

Daniel would try to spend time with David but David is on the baseball team and would spend time with his teammates. He would exclude Daniel feeling embarrassed by him. This hurt Daniel deeply.

He sometimes was jealous of his brothers' relationship with their uncle Rion who Daniel felt favored them over him. Since becoming a brown belt, Daniel would want to teach to help take some of the burden off his uncle Alex but was told no. John or Azari would be asked. If not them then Bobby, Rogue, Kitty, Peter, Evan, and Theresa or Jubilee would be asked. Hell Kendall, David, Lucas, James and Oliver are black belts and allowed to teach. Daniel felt like they hadn't trusted him and that hurt. Rion and Alex treated him as if he couldn't do anything on his own, as if he was retarded. To say he would feel isolated is an understatement.

He always knew he was special. He discovered his abilities at just four years ago. He discovered he could heal himself. He cut his arm in school and by the time he got to the nurse's office his cut had healed.

Daniel discoverd he could create force fields. Something he discovered when his sister fell off the roof and he stuck his hand out to help her and the force field he created saved her.

Daniel also discovered he has kinetic energy using all energy the way he sees fit.

He has all of the vision abilities from telescopic vision to radar. He's a techno path being able to understand, build and reconstruct all technical devices.

Daniel can levitate and fly. He can cloak himself as well as everyone else, create seismic enegery blasts control and manipulate electricity and create portals.

While his siblings have their parents to help with learning how to control their abilities, Daniel had to learn on his own. He felt bad that they hadn't really invested much time with him. He takes comfort in his martial arts training having recently earned his second degree brown belt under his uncle Rion. Though he's taken longer to earn his belts, he still loves to train. He's not the only one with a martial arts belt in the house. John, Azari, David Kendall, Lucas, James Jr. and Ollie are black belts. John and Azari are third degree black belts while Kendall, Lucas, James Jr. And Oliver recently earned their black belts. Daniel is the only one who isn't a black belt.

For a kid who is mentally delayed with a speech impediment has exceptional control of all his abilities. It's uncanny how well he can control them. Professor Xavier was in awe with how well a kid who is considered handicap could have exceptional control. It was weird.

It's tough being him. He had put away his clothes thinking about his situation. His thoughts took him back to the girls in his school. He smiled despite himself. He never had a girlfriend. The girls in his school didn't see him as a boyfriend and kept him in the friend zone. Daniel didn't mind it but he still wanted a girlfriend.

Daniel would often find himself staring at the girls in his class. He was a guy first. He hadn't been able to talk to them. He was too afraid to talk fearing he'd look and sound stupid. The closest he got to talking to a female classmate was last May when he had to collect the exams from his classmates. He looked at a girl and smiled. She just looked away.

Daniel was confident when practicing martial arts or using his abilities. Why couldn't he talk to girls? Maybe cause they smelled nice and looked good. He also didn't believe they would like him. He vowed that he'd at the very least would start a conversation with a girl. What was a guy to do?

Daniel sat on his bed. He was excited to be starting a new school. A regular school. The same school David attends. He was happy to be leaving his old school. Despite the fact that Daniel was popular in his old school, he was happy to be going to a normal school. He remembered the conversation he had with his parents

Flashback

Ororo and Logan are in their bedroom. It's late June. School had just ended for the season. Ororo was happy to have the summer off. It met she would have some down time. It's late at night. John was out with Kitty, Bobby, Rogue, Evan, Theresa, Peter and Jubilee. The eight had graduated high school a week ago and have already been accepted into college. Kendall was spending the night with her friends at sleepover. Lucas, James, and Oliver were having their own sleepover at Scott and Jeans house. Joining them were Matt, Owen, Lex, Nate and Tyler. David decided to stay in as he wasn't feeling well. Daniel stayed inside as well because he didn't have anything to do. He walked upstairs to Ororo and Logan's room. He knocked on the door.

"Come in." He heard a female voice. He knew it was his mother who responded. Daniel walks into the room wearing his pajamas. "Hi mom. Hi dad."

"Hi honey." Ororo said.

"What's up?" Logan asked.

"I wanna talk you guys about something." Daniel said.

"What is it?" Ororo asked.

"Well I wanna change schools." Daniel said.

"Why?" Logan asked.

"Yeah what's wrong with the school you attend now?" Ororo asked.

"It's for kids who are retards. I'm not a retard. I want to feel normal. I wanna go to a normal school like David." Daniel said.

"Daniel you're not normal." Logan said.

"I'm special because I'm a mutant, not because I'm retarded. I want to be a normal boy and I don't feel that way when I'm at that school." Daniel said.

"Baby you are normal." Ororo said.

"No he's not." Logan said as Ororo looked over at him. She knew how blunt and brutally honest Logan could be and wants to spare Daniel's feelings. "Look, Danny you are not normal. Yes you are a mutant but you're special son. You are different from other kids. You are different from your brothers and sister. You attend a special school because of that."

"But dad I don't feel normal and I want to feel normal. I don't want to feel like I'm retarded cause I'm not." Daniel said.

"I didn't say that." Logan said.

"But you're implying it." Daniel said.

"I just don't think it's a good idea." Logan said.

"Neither do I." David said coming into the room. Daniel turned to him. Both Ororo and Logan looked at him as he came into the room. "I didn't mean to easedrop but I was coming up to talk you and dad about something when I overheard this nonsense."

"It's not nonsense." Daniel said.

"Yes it is. I'm assuming he wants to go to the same school I go to?" David asked. Ororo and Logan didn't say anything indicating that the answer was yes. "Oh no! No no! He's not going to the same school I go to!"

"Why not?" Daniel asked.

"Because I don't want you there. I'll have to spend the rest of my school days defending him and I don't want to do that. Besides, he's gonna embarrass me and I can't have that either." David said angered. Daniel felt bad. "Why don't you stay at your own school?"

"Enough both of you." Ororo said. She sighed.

"I don't think it's a good idea." Logan said.

"Please dad. Let me change schools. Please mom." Daniel begged.

"How about we try a semester at David's school and see if he does well on his own." Ororo said as David angrily sucked his teeth. Logan looked away shaking his head. Daniel smiled.

"Thanks mom." Daniel said excitedly.

"Don't thank me yet. If you can't handle the school work on your own, we're switching you back to the charter school understand?" Ororo asked.

"Yes ma'am." Daniel said. David was visibly upset.

"David." Ororo said standing up off the bed to approach her son. "Dave look at me." He does. "I know you're not happy with this decision but I need you to be there for him. Ok." She asked. Dave frowns angrily.

"This is a mistake. He doesn't belong in a regular school." David said before angrily leaving his parents' room. Ororo sighed. Daniel felt bad. He knew David didn't want him around but to not want him at the same school he attends is unreasonable. David was more concerned with his reputation than his own sibling. That was what hurt the most."

End Of flashback

Ororo contacted Daniel's old school and had them transfer his school transcripts to the junior high school David attends. She got him registered and he is now a junior high school student.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: Trying To Fit In

It's the first day of school and everyone is up and about. Logan and Ororo had gotten the kids up. Daniel is ready for his first day back. Logan made breakfast as the kids got ready for school. Both had already gotten up and showered before their children did. Everyone had come to the kitchen table to eat.

"So you kids ready for school?" Logan asked as Ororo smirked. He was met with several looks of annoyance. She laughed.

"They're not ready." Ororo said.

"I am." Daniel said in excitement. "I'm gonna be at a new school this semester." He said as David looked at him angrily.

"You would." Azari said as the others chuckled.

"I was wrong. At least of our children is ready for school." Ororo said. Daniel realized that was the best he was going to get from his mother.

"I know why David's ready for school." Lucas said.

"Oh really?" Logan asked.

"Yep." Lucas said looking at Kendall smiling. David looked on smirking.

"What reason would Davey have other than attending classes?" Ororo asked.

"Her name would be Candice." Kendall said as they laughed. David rolled his eyes.

"His crush." Ororo said smirking.

"If you see the way she looks, you'd crush on her to. She is so fine." Azari said.

"Hey she's going to be my girl." David said.

"Oh go get her bro." Azari high fiving David.

"Hey, keep your focus off them girls and on your studies. Understand me?" Logan said firmly.

"Yes sir." Azari said. John laughed. He and Azari had a secret and the secret was that he had already lost his virginity. He told Logan who has kept that from Ororo. So now two of his boys weren't virgins any longer. He didn't want Daniel going their yet. "Hey Dan been meaning to ask you. How come you spend way too much time in the bathroom?"

"It's called well grooming. You should look into it Azari." Daniel said.

"Oh I do my grooming every morning. No see what I think you're doing is pleasuring yourself to the Victoria secret catalog." Azari said as John, David and Lucas laughed. Logan chuckled. James and Oliver are only ten and eight years old and don't know what that is. Kendall frowned disgusted.

"Ewwell!" Kendall said.

"What is that?" James asked.

"Something you and Ollie will find out soon enough." John said as he, David, Lucas and Azari laughed. Logan looked over at them frowning with a hint of amusement written on his face.

"I don't want to know." Oliver said.

"Enough!" Ororo said. "Stop messing with your brother. Finish eating almost time to go." She said as Daniel gets up from the table to clear his plate. Kendall follows. She felt bad for him. The way they picked on him made Daniel feel incredibly bad. She went over to him.

"Hey." She said. He didn't answer. "You know they're just messing with you right?"

"Since when do you care?" Daniel asked her. He glares at her before turning and heading to get his backpack. Kendall stared back at him wondering what he met by what he said. She does care about him.

It was time for the kids to head off to school. All are in the garage.

"Ok John you drop Azari off at school before heading to campus. Logan honey will you drop the kids off to school?" Ororo asked.

"Of course darlin." Logan said.

"Ok later ma." John said giving her a kiss on the cheek. "See you later pop." He said shaking his hand. He was followed by Azari.

"See you boys later." Ororo said smiling.

"Bye mom." Kendall said kissing Ororo's cheek.

"By ma." Lucas follows.

"Bye mommy." Oliver said repeating the gesture their siblings did moments earlier.

"Later ma." James said.

"Bye ma." David said kissing her on the cheek.

"Bye my babies. Have a good day in school." Ororo said. She watched them climb into Logan's van.

"Bye mom." Daniel said. He went to kiss her cheek but at the last second Ororo moves. Daniel watched her a moment. Ororo hadn't realized that he wanted to kiss her cheek.

"Get going before you're late." She said. Daniel turned and got into the van closing the door behind him. Ororo watched as Logan started the van and drove off. John followed in his car. She then closes the garage and headed for her first class of the day.

While Logan drove to the school, James and Oliver were chatting about which teacher they'd have. Lucas was listening to music while in the passenger seat. David was playing with his ps vita. Kendall was texting a friend on her phone but stopped to look up at Daniel. He hadn't said anything. She couldn't get what he said to her out of her mind. Did he really believe she didn't care about him?

The van pulls into the parking lot of the school. All the parents and school buses had dropped their kids off. He got out of the van and opened the door.

"Alright kids lets go." Logan said.

"Bye daddy." Kendall kissing him on the cheek.

"Bye baby girl." Logan said.

"Later dad." Lucas said.

"Bye dad." James said.

"See you later dad." Oliver said all three brothers gave their father handshakes.

"Later dad." David said getting out the van.

"Have a good day." Logan said as they made their way towards the school. Kendall hooked up with her friend Trisha. He noticed Daniel slowly getting out the car. "What's with you?" He asked.

"Nothing." Daniel said. "Hey dad."

"Yeah?" Logan asked.

"Was wondering what advice you have for a guy trying to talk to girls?" Daniel asked.

"Keep it in your pants." Logan said. Daniel was surprised by his response. He wasn't expecting that answer. Besides that wasn't the question. All he really wanted to know was how to talk to girls and he gets a crappy response from his father. He frowned sadly as he headed for the school building. Logan felt bad. He sat in the driver seat of the van thinking about Daniel's question. He just realized what his boy was really asking of him. "Shit!"

David was talking with his friends while waiting on Daniel. Daniel was smiling while looking around the big school building. His old school was different.

"Let's go." David yelled to him. Daniel made his way to David.

"Yo Dave, this is your twin?" Dorian Peters asked. Dorian is David's height, brown hair, brown eyes and is half black half Asian. His eyes aren't as slanted as normal Asians. Dorian is a member of the baseball team. He catches David when he pitches. With them is their other friend Hank Carmichael. Hank is a pasty white kid with red hair, green eyes and is tall for his age. He's also a member of the baseball team and is the first basemen.

"I'm Daniel." Daniel said introducing himself. Hank and Dorian noticed Daniel's speech impediment and can tell he's a bit slow.

"Shut up." David said. "Let's go inside before we're late." He said as all four make their way into the building.

David took Daniel to the principal's office to get his class schedule.

David made his way to his locker. He was glad everyone had the same lockers from last year. He stops when he spots Candice. She was talking to her friends. He smiled watching her. She is a vision of beauty. He decided that this was his moment. He'd go and say hi. He walked over to her but she was heading to her first period class.

"Hey Candice." David said as she stopped. David froze a moment. Her friends had walked away heading in the opposite direction. "Yes do I know you?" She said staring at him.

"Uh hi." David said.

"Hi." She said smiling awkwardly.

"Uh we're in the same class." David said.

"Ok." Candice said.

"David. I'm on the baseball team." David said extending his hand to her. She smiled and gave him her hand. David kissed her hand smoothly. Candice liked that.

"Right." Candice said remembering him. "Such a gentleman." She said to him.

"But of course." David said smoothly."

"It's refreshing to see that chivalry isn't dead." Candice said liking how David is treating her.

"Not with me it isn't." David said smiling confidently. Candice smiled.

"So you won't ditch me for your friends?" Candice asked.

"Who in their right mind would a beautiful princess like you?" David said smiling. Candice was definitely feeling David. "How was your summer?" David asked her.

"It was good and yours?" Candice asked.

"Good." David said smiling at her confidently. Candice found that hot. She spots Dorien and Hank behind him. Both guys nod to her and she returns the gesture. David had completely forgotten that Dorien and Hank were behind him.

"Dave the dork." Came the voice of Clay Brown. He is a popular kid and is hot for Candice. He was a little shorter than David, dark brown hair brown eyes and is on the varsity baseball team with David. He thinks he's god's gift to the girls. "What up loser?" Clay said smirking.

"What up ass wod." David smirked as the two laughed shaking hands. The teammates and friends giggled. Shawn, Willie Will what up my friends?"

"What up my dude." Shawn said shaking David's hand.

"What up kid?" Willie asked shaking David's hand.

Clay was surrounded by his two friends Shawn Cartmen and Willie Parnell. Shawn is Daniel's height, light brown hair brown eyes and skinny. Willie is Clay's height, cornrows in his head, caramel brown eyes and a bit on the chubby side. Both are on the baseball team with Clay. All three shook hands with Hank and Dorien as all are on the baseball team.

"Hey Candice." Clay, Shawn and Willie said in unison. David laughed.

"Hey fellas." Candice greeted.

"Hey Candice, my man here." Clay said pointing to David. "He wants to go out with you."

"Shut up." David said grabbing Clay and playfully shoving him.

"Is that right?" Candice asked smiling. She likes him already. After their flirt game moments earlier, Candice was definitely into David.

"Would you say yes if I asked you out?" David asked.

"Maybe. I don't even know you David." Candice said flirting back.

"Well you remembered my name. That's a start." He said to her smiling. Clay sees something out of the corner of his eyes. The guy looking around clueless looks like David.

"Hey uh Dave is that your dorky brother Daniel?" Clay asked. The group turned to see Daniel looking around for his first class.

"Oh shit! No I hope he's not in our home room." David said almost praying. Daniel stumbles towards them.

"Hey bro. I think we're in the same homeroom." Daniel said. He could tell David was not happy.

"Who is this?" Candice asked.

"Hi. I'm Daniel. You must be Candice. My brother really likes you." Daniel said as Clay, Willie and Shawn laughed.

"Shut up." David said. Candice smiled. She could tell Daniel is mentally delayed.

"Nice to meet you Daniel." Candice said. The bell sounded. "We should get to class." She said as she, Clay, Shawn and Willie walked into the classroom.

"Hey..." David said pushing Daniel up against the lockers. "Don't ever embarrass me like that again in front of Candice. If you do I will kick your ass. I will literally embarrass you in front of everyone here got me?" David asked angrily. Daniel nods. "Good. You keep your distance from me and my friends. Stay away from Candice. Make friends of your own. We may have to attend the same school but that doesn't mean that I have to like it. As long as you're here, you stay away from me." He said before turning and heading back into the classroom. Daniel felt bad. He lowered his head before entering the classroom. He made sure to sit at the last desk by the window. Way across from David and his friends.

Daniel spent his day trying to make friends and failed miserably. On the flip side, he had spoken to Candice a few times to the dismay of David who frowned every time he spoke to her.

When they returned home, Ororo had asked the kids about their first day back at school.

"How was everyone's first day back at school?" Ororo asked.

"Wonderful. Trish and I got Mrs. Hanken. She is awesome. This year is going to be great." Kendall said. "Of course she's not a better teacher than you mom but she comes pretty close." Kendall said as Ororo smiled at that comment.

"I met up the football team and we discussed the upcoming season." Azari said.

"Can't wait bro." John said.

"That makes two of us." Logan said. "So when's the new schedule out?"

"Next week. I'll get you a copy." Azari said. "We got rookies on the team."

"They any good?" Logan asked.

"We'll find out this Saturday during our first practice."Azari said.

"What about you John?" Ororo asked.

"Oh I signed up for business classes with a minor in teaching." John said.

"Holy shit!" Logan said as they laughed. Ororo gave Logan a stern look but she to is shocked.

"A minor in teaching. What brought that on?" She asked.

"Well mom you're a good teacher and dad you do a good job helping the X-Men team prepare for battle. So I figured I could teach some day. I mean I already teach a class at the dojo. I got the experience down pack." John said. Daniel looked in his direction a second. Their uncle Rion had allowed him, Bobby, Rogue, Kitty, Peter, Jubilee and Theresa teach classes. Hell even Evan and Azari teach a class. Why hadn't Rion trusted Daniel was a question he wanted the answer to. Ororo and Logan looked on impressed.

"Wow. I'm impressed son." Logan said.

"Yeah. This is excellent news." Ororo said.

"I have a bit of a problem though." John said.

"What's the problem?" Ororo asked.

"Well we got registered but the dorms are booked up. Nowhere to stay." John said.

"Stay here. Maybe there will be an opening at the dorm next semester." Logan said as Ororo nods.

"Cool." John said.

"My new teacher is Ms. Barbra. She is soo hot. I'm really paying attention this season." Lucas said as they laughed.

"You might even get straight A's this semester." Azari said.

"Oh yeah." Lucas said the laughter continued.

"Nuttin like a beautiful woman to make you pay attention right darlin?" Logan said winking at Ororo. She smirked.

"Hey J are you and Ollie in the same class again?" John asked.

"Sadly yes." Oliver said joking. They laughed.

"Hey. I'm a offended by that." James said.

"Me to. You copy off my paper and still get it wrong. How does that happen?" Oliver said as they laughed. Both Logan and Ororo looked on amused but gave stern looks.

"Well if I copied off you and got it wrong then you got it wrong to." James said.

"Anyway. We both have the same class and he will not be copying off of me." Oliver said.

"So David how was your first day back?" Logan asked.

"Cool. I got homeroom with Candice." David said.

"And me to." Daniel said not to be outdone by his brother. David frowned.

"So David, did you talk to Candice?" Azari asked. All eyes were on him.

"Of course." David said as John, Azari and Lucas high five David while cheering.

"That's my bro." Azari said happy. Logan smirked. Ororo looked in amused.

"Boys." Kendall said.

"That's what's up bro." James said.

"Yeah. Did you get her number?" Oliver asked.

"Yep put it in my phone." David said.

"My boy. You gave her the ole Howlett charm." Logan said.

"It works every time." David said.

"The ladies can't resist the Howlett men." Azari said.

"You got that right." Logan said. Daniel didn't say anything. He caught how happy Logan was for David and how he is happy for John and excited for Azari. He was even happy for Kendall, Lucas, James and Oliver.

"Daniel tell me about your first day at a new school?" Ororo asked.

"Oh it was good. I understood the lessons perfectly. The homeroom teacher is nice." Daniel said.

"Did you make any new friends?" Ororo asked.

"Loser." David said pretending to cough. Azari, Lucas and James laughed. Ororo looked over at David and was not amused.

"No. Not yet." Daniel said. He looked at his food sadly.

"Daniel is everything ok?" Ororo asked. Daniel looked at her as if she cared. He then remembered what happened earlier and went back to his dinner.

"Yep." Was his response. Everyone went back to eating.

Kendall hadn't laughed. She wondered if Daniel's behavior was due to what he said to her this morning.

Logan had felt bad about his response to his son earlier.

After dinner, Daniel had went to his room to do his homework. He heard a knock at his door.

"Come in." He said without looking. Kendall opens the door. He turns to see her. "What?"

"I was wondering if you were ok?" Kendall asked.

"I'm fine." Daniel said.

"What did you mean earlier this morning?" Kendall asked him.

"I didn't mean anything. Don't worry about it." He said without looking at her.

"Danny do you think I don't care about you?" Kendall asked him genuinely concerned that he felt that way. Daniel wanted to reveal his true feelings but chose to hide it.

"Of course not. I was angry. I didn't mean what I said." He said to her. Kendall didn't exactly believe him but wouldn't push him.

"Ok." Kendall said. "What are you doing?"

"Homework. I got three classes worth but luckily it's pretty light." Daniel told her. She nods.

"Well I'll leave you to it. Good night." Kendall said.

"Night." Daniel responds. Kendall leaves his room. He frowned. He wasn't buying her I care for you routine. Time would tell if Kendall really did care for him.

A few weeks had gone by and the Howlett children were well into their school year. Daniel continued to strike out on finding friends. Meanwhile he watched as the others kids in his class paired up on a daily basis. He had to do a couple school projects on his own. He would talk to Candice but whenever he wanted to work with her, Clay blocked him. He'd walk away in defeat. Candice would feel bad for him. Daniel would ride his bike to school after what happened on the first day of school. He had decided to avoid his father entirely.

Today was the start of a four day weekend. He and his siblings had no school and no homework. They were excited about that.

John was the only one who had some assignments for his class but he'd take care of that quickly.

Azari was especially excited to have the four day weekend because it met that he could focus on football. Why not? His team was undefeated and they had a game on Saturday. Logan, Scott, Rion and Alex are huge fans of Azari and his team.

Kendall was excited to have the four day weekend because it met that she could spend Friday with Ororo and Saturday with the family at Azari's football game. Sunday she'd have a play date with Trisha at her house.

Lucas was definitely ready for the weekend. Other than the football game Saturday, he'd spend his weekend playing video games and practicing his martial arts.

James and Oliver couldn't wait to get their weekend started. James would practice his skateboarding and Oliver would work on his experiments. Both would practice their martial arts. All seven would be working on controlling their abilities.

Daniel meanwhile wasn't too excited about having four days off. It met that he'd have to spend four days with his family and he was starting to get the feeling that they didn't like him. He would never tell them that though. He decided he'd use this time to get in with his family.

He found John in his room with Kitty, John, Rogue, Bobby, Pete, Jubilee and Evan with him. All were trying to finish their assignments so they could head out for the evening. Theresa would join them later. The door was open so Daniel poked his head in the door.

"Hey bro. Hey guys." Daniel said as they turned to him.

"What's up little man?" Evan asked.

"What do you want squirt?" John asked.

"I wanted to see what you were up to." Daniel said.

"Studying stuff you don't know anything about." Kitty said.

"What kind of stuff?" Daniel asked.

"Nosey little brother you are." Rogue said smirking.

"Why do you wanna know?" John asked. It wasn't that he was hiding his work. He just wanted to get rid of Daniel.

"Maybe I can help." Daniel said as they laughed. He was offended. "You do know that I'm smart right?"

"Yeah. This is our assignment and the last thing we need is help from a fourteen year old." Peter said.

"In fact if we ever need help from a fourteen year old, please stab me with my own spike." Evan said as they laughed. Daniel looked on hurt.

"Thanks for the offer..." Bobby said.

"But we'll pass." John finished. "Get going." He said as Daniel turned and walked out of the room.

Daniel could hear them talking about him. He heard Kitty ask if they were harsh with him. He heard John say that he was tired of Daniel offering to helping like he knew everything. Daniel felt bad.

Daniel headed downstairs into the living to watch tv. He heard Azari grunting and wondered what he was doing. He decided to go out into the backyard. He found Azari there working on moves with three of his teammates. One of his Max Cherzer. Max is a white teen with blond hair cut short, hazel eyes and is as big as they come. He's six feet four, big burly and the girls call him teddy bear. Reason being is because although Max is a big guy, he's soft spoken. Azari was doing his best to get around him using his moves. Max was blocking him. It was something they practiced everyday. Watching were Todd Maris and Eddy Kitch. Todd is six feet tall with a caramel complexion, bald head and is in great physical shape. Eddy is the same height, has a tanned complexion and muscular. Eddy is a running back. Todd is a wide receiver like Azari and Max is a blocker. All are great at the game. None of them knew Azari is a mutant.

Daniel sees this and smiles. He sometimes liked to watch Azari practice football. He wanted to practice with them but Azari didn't want him to.

"Hey guys." Daniel said. They stopped to see him standing there.

"Little man." Todd said. Daniel wondered why everyone called him that.

"What's up?" Daniel asked.

"Yo what are you doing out here?" Azari asked angrily. He was not in the mood for Daniel to interrupt his practice session with his friends.

"I wanted to see what you're doing?" Daniel said.

"What's it look like we're doing?" Azari asked angrily. Daniel looked at him frowning.

"Can I help you practice?" Daniel asked.

"Daniel go inside. Leave us alone." Azari said.

"Come on I can help. I'm in great shape to." Daniel said. Max, Todd and Eddy laughed.

"If he wants to help, then let's let him help." Eddy said as they laughed.

"Nah, he's taking his ass back in the house. Go back inside Danny. I don't need your help." Azari said. Max and Todd felt a little bad for the way Azari was speaking to Daniel. He only wanted to help.

"Whatever." Daniel said as he turned and headed back into the house. In the living room, Daniel spots James with Oliver, Lex and Tyler. The four are playing a game on the Xbox gaming system. Maybe he could play with his brothers and cousins. "Can I play winner?" He asked.

"Nope." James said.

"Why not?" Daniel asked. James didn't answer too into his game.

"Get the elf?" Tyler Summers yelled.

"I'm getting him." James said.

"I got the rings." Oliver said.

"I gotcha back cous." Lex said. All four looked deep in to the game.

"Why can't I get winners?" Daniel asked.

"It's not that kind of game Danny." Lex said.

"Besides we're going to be playing this game for awhile." Oliver said.

"Fine." Daniel said as he made his way out of their house outside past the garden and into the Xavier mansion. He sees Ororo's garden near the huge kitchen and decides to see if she's in there. Naturally she is there. She isn't alone though. Kendall is with her. Daniel enters the garden. "Hey."

"Hey. Daniel what are you doing here?" Kendall asked.

"I was just passing by and saw you two in the garden. It's looking great by the way." Daniel said smiling.

"Thank you honey." Ororo said then going back to the rose pedal she was working on.

"Ok so what do you want?" Kendall asked not meaning for her question sound harsh.

"I was wondering if I could help." Daniel said. Both Ororo and Kendall looked up at him wondering where this was coming from. "What?" He asked noticing their expression.

"Since when do you ever want to help in the garden?" Ororo asked.

"I don't know. I just figured I'd expand my already vast knowledge." Daniel responds giving a bullshit answer. Ororo saw through it.

"As nice as that offer is, now's not a good time." Ororo said.

"Besides, you know this is my time with mom. This is our time and I ain't into sharing." Kendall said. Daniel felt bad.

"Fine." Daniel said turning to leave. Ororo looked back and all she saw was the door closing behind him as he left. She felt bad. She looked over at Kendall.

"What? He knows this our time and I don't like sharing you when it's my time." Kendall said as Ororo smiled loving her little girl. "I know that sounds harsh but a daughter's bond with her mother is sacred." She said as Ororo laughed playfully nudging her daughter.

Daniel found himself heading to the garage. He heard voices. He recognized them. One being his father Logan. He enters the garage to find Logan with Lucas, Scott and Nathan working on a car. Scott had asked Logan to help him fix a car with him.

"Hey is that the thunderbolt you're fixing?" Daniel asked as he made his way towards the group. The first thing he noticed was the faces. Scott didn't look annoyed but was not expecting Daniel. Nathan shared the same look his father had. Lucas and Logan share the same look of annoyance.

"Yes it is." Scott said deciding to answer.

"Cool." Daniel said looking at the car.

"What is it you want Danny?" Logan asked.

"I wanted to help. Can I help?" Daniel asked.

"We already have enough hands on this project." Scott said. "Sorry."

"You're not needed for this." Lucas said.

"Dad, come on let me help?" Daniel practically begged.

"No. We have enough people here to fix the car. You should go do something else." Logan said. Daniel turned and walked back into the mansion.

What a day so far. Shut out by his parents and siblings. He walked down to the dojo to see if perhaps maybe his uncle would need his help. He sees Rion with his sons practicing.

"Hey uncle Rion." Daniel said as Rion frowned. Rion watched as his cousins performed perfect katas and self defense techniques. "Looking good cousins." He said.

"Danny, what can I do for you?" Rion asked.

"How's about a sparring match?" Daniel asked. "I can get changed and be back here in ten minutes."

"No, I'm working with my boys on a new kata." Rion said.

"Oh. Well can I help. I can do it with them." Daniel asked.

"I said no Daniel." Rion said as Daniel looked on disappointed.

"Fine." Daniel said leaving the dojo somberly.

He walked down the hall from the dojo and found the medical bay open. He peaked in and heard both Jean, Megan and Emma talking. He decided to interrupt their conversation.

"Hey pretty ladies." Daniel said smiling. They turned to him.

"Daniel hi." Jean said.

"Hey there." Emma said.

"What are my favorites aunts up to?" Daniel asked trying to sound charming.

"We are talking shop." Megan said. All three woman looked at him wondering what he wanted.

"Where's uncle Alex?" Daniel asked.

"Out." Emma responds.

"So what's up?" Jean asked.

"Was wondering if you needed help." Daniel asked. All three woman looked over at each other and then back at him.

"Help with what?" Jean asked.

"Whatever it is you're doing." Daniel said.

"Well right now we're having an adult conversation." Megan said.

"A conversation you interrupted." Emma said. Daniel's smile disappeared.

"I didn't mean to interrupt. I was just seeing if..." Daniel starts to say but changes his mind. "Never mind." He said then turning and leaving the lab. The ladies felt bad for pushing him away but their conversation was private and he did interrupt it.

Daniel headed back to his room feeling dejected. No one wanted him around. It hurt him deeply. A thought did occur to him. He could go see David. He knew he'd be at the local park with his friends because that's where he told their parents he'd be after going to the mall. He smiled to himself and left his room in a hurry. He grabbed his bike and ride off quickly off the mansion grounds.

David is in the park Candice and their friends. They were sitting on the bench talking. All were wearing their jackets due to the brisk chill in the air. It wasn't winter yet but fall and most were wearing jackets and sweaters. He stood there watching them. He glanced at Candice. David was right. She is beautiful.

He really wanted to have a girlfriend of his own but wasn't as confident talking to girls as David was.

He knew David wanted to make her his girlfriend. They hadn't exactly gone out yet but David was working up to it. Daniel casually rode his bike up to where David and the others sat on the bench.

Candice's two friends Andreana Lozado and Tori Blanchard are with her. Andreana is a little Latina Candice's height with dark curly hair, brown eyes, a full bust size, an ass that almost rivaled Candice's and the attitude to match. She knew she was fine and didn't give a damn what anyone said. Tori was a white girl with red hair, green eyes, a decent bust size, the ass was better than her bust size and a modest attitude. Both girls notice Daniel ride to their table.

"Oh lord here comes your brother Danny." Tori said as the girls laughed. David turned to see Daniel coming their way.

"Damn!" David said exclaimed annoyed.

"Hey ladies. Gents." Daniel said trying to sound as smooth as he could having watched Azari flirt on a numerous occasions.

"What's up?" Tori asked.

"What do you want dork?" David asked annoyed by Daniel's presence.

"I was wondering if I can hang with you guys and girls." Daniel said. Candice and the others looked on surprised that Daniel would ask that. David was angered. Dorian and the others looked on not sure how to let Daniel down. They couldn't be seen hanging with the local retard. "What do you say bro?" He asked hoping it was yes. They all looked at David who is fuming.

"No fucking way. Daniel I told you the first day of school to stay away from me and my friends. You will never hang with us so just back the fuck off!" David yelled at him. Hurt, Daniel got back in his bike and rode off. Candice felt bad. She knew David was treating his mentally delayed twin brother like crap. It wasn't right. However it didn't stop her from liking him.

Daniel arrived home and sees his parents sitting on the couch. They see him and want to talk to him. He is about to head to his room when he hears his name.

"Daniel." Ororo called to him. He stops and turns to her. "Come, your father and I wanna talk to you." She said. He lightened up thinking this was his quality time with his parents. Finally he'd get to have them to himself. He went to sit next to them on the couch.

"What's up?" Daniel asked

"You're aunts, uncle Rion, siblings and cousins have complained that you've been bothering them." Logan said as Daniel looked on. 'Bothering them?' Daniel thought to himself. "You've interrupted John's study session, you interrupted Azari's practice, you intruded on your brothers and cousins who were playing a game, Rion's training session with Matt and Owen, you've intruded on the conversation between Jean, Emma and Megan, you did the same thing with your mother and Kendall's gardening and I certainly didn't appreciate it when you interrupted Scott and I fixing the car with Lucas and Nathan." Logan finished. Daniel also realized that David didn't appreciate him intruding on his afternoon with his friends. Daniel looked on hurt. All the people that were supposed to care about him complaining about him wanting to spend quality time with them. He frowned slightly.

"Honey, none of us wanted to be disturbed at all and that was something you did." Ororo said.

"Fine. I won't bother anyone anymore. Ok?" Daniel said. Logan and Ororo realized that his feelings were hurt. "We done?" Daniel asked sounding every bit hurt. Ororo nods. He quickly got up left the living room running up the stairs. Ororo immediately felt bad.

"Shit!" Logan said.

"Never met to hurt his feelings." Ororo said. Logan rubbed her shoulders.

That evening, Logan, Ororo and the kids ate dinner. Daniel was noticeably absent from dinner. Ororo worried that Daniel was purposely keeping his distance from everyone because of what was said to him.

After dinner, she went to check on him. She knocks on the door but there was no answer.

"Daniel." She called to him. He didn't answer. She opened the door the find him sprawled out on the bed asleep. She turned off his light and closed the door making sure not to wake him. What she didn't know was that Daniel was already awake and didn't want to talk. He wasn't hungry either. He was hurt that no one spoke to him or would spend time with him. Deciding to sleep this nightmare day away.

The next day, the family went to Azari's game. Daniel had to go because the family went. That included Scott and other X-men. Azari's team had won yet again and they won by fifteen points. Daniel watched as Azari celebrated with his teammates then coming into the stands and celebrating with Logan, Ororo and his siblings. He high fives Scott, Alex, Rion, John and Evan. Bobby and Peter hugged him. Daniel got up from his seat and went to the van and waited for his family to arrive. They arrived at the mansion moments later. Azari asked if he could celebrate another victory with his friends at the pizza parlor. Ororo and Logan agreed telling him to be back by twelve. He kissed her on the cheek and headed off with his friends. John, Bobby, Rogue, Kitty, Peter, Jubilee, Evan and Theresa all headed out as well.

Logan arrived home with Ororo, Jean, Scott and the others along with the children. They all sat in the living room. Logan sat next to Ororo, with Lucas next to her and Kendall next to him. James and Oliver sat in Logan and Ororo's lap. Scott and Jean sat next to each other with Nathan next to Jean and Tyler in Scott's lap. Rion and Megan sat next to Logan and Ororo on the long couch with Matt and Owen in their laps. Emma and Alex sat next to Scott and Jean on the second sofa with Lex next to Emma. Daniel lingered in the back sitting at the kitchen table.

"That was some game." Scott said being the first to speak.

"Yeah that boy of yours is on his way to a full ride in college." Alex said.

"God I hope so. Paying for John's school is hard enough. We've got six more to put in college." Logan said.

"Yep." Ororo adds.

"I'm going for an academic scholarship to save mom and dad money." Kendall said.

"That's my girl. She gets straight A's." Logan said proud of her.

"Me to. I hope to someday attend MIT." Oliver said.

"That's my boy." Ororo said.

"If I go to college, it's going to be on athletic Scholarship. I'm playing pro basketball." James said.

"You have to get better grades first." Oliver said as they laughed.

"You gotta get better grades first." James said mocking his brother as the others laughed.

"I'm not going to college." Lucas said.

"Oh no?" Ororo asked questioningly.

"No. I'm going to clown school." He said as they laughed.

"No you're not." Logan said as they chuckled.

"It's clown college dork." Kendall said. Lucas stuck out his tongue. They laughed.

"I'm gonna create video games when I'm grown up." Nathan said.

"I'm building cars for a living." Tyler said.

"Our boys the dreamers." Jean said smiling proudly.

"You got that right." Scott said.

"I'm gonna help dad expand the dojo. To do that I'm going to business school after college." Matt said.

"With you on that bro." Owen adds. Rion chokes back a tear.

"What's wrong Rion?" Alex asked.

"I'm so proud of my boys." Rion said as they laughed realizing the fake tearing was met to lighten the mode although he is proud of them. Megan smiles.

"I'm making mom and dad rich by doing info commercials." Lex said as the group laughed.

"Sweetie it's called infomercials and no you will not be doing that." Emma said.

"Yeah son you will getting an education. I don't care what career you choose as long as you get it after college." Alex said.

Daniel listened and was hurt. It bothered him that everyone could sit there gushing over their children and not even give him a second glance. Something caught his eye on the television. A man in a iron suit was flying over New York City. He recognized the guy in tv.

"Is that?" Emma asked before being cut off.

"Tony Stark." Logan said.

"That's him alright." Scott said.

"Isn't he Iron man?" Megan asked.

"Yes and is so cool." Matt said.

"Uncle Tony's on tv." Lucas said.

"Turn it up." Logan used the remote control to turn the volume up. Tony was making some announcement about a new invention. He had Daniel's attention.

'Uncle Tony. If there was ever a person I could talk to its him.' Daniel thought to himself. He got up from his seat and went up to his room without anyone noticing. He began to pack an overnight back. He'd spend at least an evening chatting with his uncle. Daniel had just enough money saved up decided to get the bus into the city. He'd leave in the morning.


	5. Chapter 5

Daniel (An X-Men Story)

Chapter Five: Avengers' Little Helper Pt. One

Ever since he found out his uncle was Ironman, Daniel has been dying to see him and see his iron man suit. Tony had promised to show him one day but never had time. This time Daniel would force the issue. He left early that morning making sure he wasn't seen and that he was the first one up. He snuck off the mansion grounds making sure to keep his mind closed so that the physics around the mansion grounds couldn't read his mind. He got to the bus station knowing that he wouldn't reach the city for at least six hours.

He was excited sitting on the bus having brought a veggie burrito for breakfast along with an orange juice. He realized he could've flown there using his flight abilities but didn't want to scare anyone. He certainly didn't want to alert anyone to the fact that he was a mutant.

Once he arrived at the bus terminal, he immediately got on the subway that would leave him off at the closest stop to Stark towers. He got out the train and made his way towards Stark towers. He enters the huge building and is immediately greeted by Jarvis.

"Young Daniel." Jarvis says from the computer panel.

"Hi there Jarvis. Is uncle Tony home?" Daniel asked his speech impediment prominent.

"He's not. Shall I tell him you stopped by?" Jarvis asked. Daniel is disappointed.

"Uh do you know where he is?" Daniel asked. He figured he could meet Tony where he was.

"He is tending to an important matter." Jarvis said. Daniel heard Tony's voice over the computer panel. He could tell Tony was in his Iron man suit flying over some country. Who's agent Romanoff? What is the hellicarrier? Tony was in another country entirely. Daniel could tell from the sounds in the background that something was going on. People were in trouble. He concentrates listening to the sounds across the control panel. An aircraft is heard. A fight ensues. Captain America? Daniel smirks before quickly levitates and flys off before being seen. He figured out where Tony was. He was in Germany. Stuttgart to be exact. If he flew fast enough he could help.

"Make your move, Reindeer games." Tony said in his Iron man suit. Loki gives up. "Good move."

Steven Rogers aka Captain American and Tony Stark aka Iron man load Loki onto the jet.

"Mr. Stark." Captain America said.

"Captain." Iron man said.

"Didn't he say anything?" Cap asked.

"Not a word." Black Widow said. "Just get in here. We're low on time." She said flying the jet.

"I don't like it." Cap said.

"What? Rock of Ages giving up so easily?" Iron man asked.

"I don't remember it being that easy." Cap said. "This guy packs a wallop."

"Still, you were pretty spry, for an older fellow." Iron an said. "What's your thing? Pilates?" He asked.

"What?" Cap asked.

"It's like calisthenics." Iron man said. "You might have missed a couple things, you know, doing time as a Capsicle."

Black Widow noticed a small but little dot on the screen. It was flying fast towards the ship.

"The hell?" Black Widow asked.

"Fury didn't tell me he was calling you in." Cap told him.

"Yeah, there's a lot of things Fury doesn't tell you." Iron man said.

They heard lightening in the sky outside the jet.

"Where's this coming from?" Iron Man asked. Loki looked on s little frightened.

"What's the matter? Scared of a little lightning?" Cap asked.

"I'm not overly fond of what follows." Loki said.

Just as he said that, the hatchet to the back opens up to reveal another asguardian. Iron man tries to stop him but is knocked back. He took Loki and flew off out of the jet.

"Now there's that guy." Iron man said.

"Another Asgardian?" Black Widow asked.

"Think the guy's a friendly?" Cap asked.

"Doesn't matter." Iron man said. "If he frees Loki or kills him, the Tesseract's lost.

"Stark, we need a plan of attack." Cap said to him. Iron man grabs his helmet and puts it on over his head.

"I have a plan. Attack." Iron man said as he flew out of the jet. Captain America is gearing up to help.

"I'd sit this one out, Cap." Black Widow said still focusing on the little dot on the screen.

"I don't see how I can." Cap said to her.

"These guys come from legend, they're basically Gods." Black Widow said.

"There's only one God, ma'am. And I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that." Cap said.

"Where's the Tesseract?" Thor asked

"I missed you too." Loki said.

"Do I look to be in a gaming mood?" Thor asked obviously pissed off.

"Oh, you should thank me." Loki told him. "With the Bifrost gone, how much dark energy did the All-Father have to muster to conjure you here? Your precious earth."

"I thought you dead." Thor told him.

"Did you mourn?" Loki asked.

"We all did." Thor said. "Our father..."

"Your father." Loki corrected him. "He did tell you my true parentage, did he not?"

"We were raised together. We played together, we fought together. Do you remember none of that?" Thor asked.

"I remember a shadow. Living in the shade of your greatness. I remember you tossing me into an abyss. I who was and should be king!" Loki said.

"So you take the world I love as recompense for your imagined slights? No, the earth is under my protection, Loki." Thor told him.

"And you're doing a marvelous job with that. The humans slaughter each other in droves, while you ideally threat. I mean to rule them. That's why should I not..." Loki said.

"Think yourself above them." Thor said.

"Well, yes." Loki responds.

"Then you miss the truth of ruling, brother. A throne would suit you ill." Thor told him.

"I've seen worlds you've never known about. I have grown, Odin's son, in my exile. I have seen the true power of the Tesseract. And when I wield it..." Loki brags.

"Who showed you this power? Who controls the would be king?" Thor asks.

"I am the king!" Loki yells.

"Not here!" Thor yells back. You give up the Tesseract! You give up this poisonous dream! You come home." Thor asks.

"I do not have it. You need the cube to bring me home, but I've sent it off. I know not where." Loki told him.

"You listen well, brother." Thor said before he's knocked off the top for hill by Iron man.

"I'm listening." Loki said knowing that Thor wasn't there.

Thor and Iron man land on the ground in the woods. Both fall.

"Do not touch me again." Thor warned.

"Then don't take my stuff." Iron man respond.

"You have no idea what you're dealing with." Thor told him.

"Uh...Shakespeare in the park. Doth mother know, you weareth her drapes?" Iron man joked.

"This is beyond you, metal man." Thor said to him. "Loki will face Asgardian justice."

"He gives up the cube and he's all yours. Until then, stay out of the way. Tourist." Iron man said before he's hit with Thor's hammer. "Okay." He shoots lasers out at Thor who takes the hit then sends a shock to Iron man's suit. The suit charges Iron man's suit. "How about that." He shoots out more laser beams hitting Thor. The two have a bit of a battle before Captain America intervenes.

"Thats enough!" Captain America said getting in the middle of the battle. "Now, I don't know what you plan on doing here."

"I've come here to put an end to Loki's schemes!" Thor said.

"Then prove it. Put that hammer down." Captain America asked him.

"Uh...yep! No! Bad call! He loves his hammer!" Iron man said aloud.

"You want me to put the hammer down?" Thor said raising it and is about to slam it down and suddenly a figure appears from nowhere dropping down in between them. A blue light covering both captain America and Iron man plus the figure involved. Thor's hammer ends up hitting the shield. He steps back wondering who the new person to the party was. The shield comes down to reveal Daniel Howlett.

Daniel headed towards Germany and caught wind if the aircraft flying from the Germany. He figured this was the aircraft involved in the incident in Stuttgart. He followed hoping it would lead him to his uncle. Sure enough.

"Stop! Stop fighting!" Daniel yelled. "We're on the same side."

"Who are you?" Thor asked staring at the young teen."

"I also want to know this." Captain America asked.

"Danny." Iron man said.

"Hey uncle Tony." Daniel said smiling.

"Uncle Tony?" Cap questioned. Iron man shrugged. "Are we done here?"

"Let's just get Loki back to shield." Iron man said. He said as they all got on the jet. Thor went and got Loki flying them into the jet.

"Whoah!!! Look at this jet." Daniel said excitedly. Looking over everything."

"Who's the kid?" Black Widow asked.

"I'm Dan..." Daniel starts to say but is cut off.

"Introductions later." Iron man said.

Back at the Xavier mansion-Howlett home, Logan and Ororo haven't heard from Daniel and he wasn't in his room. They wanted to know where he was. They looked around the mansion for him.

"He's not in his room." Logan said.

"He's nowhere in the house." Ororo said.

"Maybe we should look around the mansion grounds for him." Azari said.

"Go." Logan said as he ran out of the house and into the Xavier mansion. He raced around trying to find Daniel but there was no sign of him. David did the same. Jean and Emma who also have been helping to look for Daniel came into the Howlett house.

"Daniel isn't on the mansion grounds." Emma said.

"What?" Ororo asked shocked.

"Professor used cerebro to find him but can't." Emma said. "We've tried to searching for his brain patterns but can't." Jean said.

"He must be blocking his thoughts." Emma said.

"Where the hell could he be?" Logan asked.

"Try calling his cell." Jean said as Logan dialed his number. It rang until he got his voicemail.

"Boy where the fuck are you?!" Logan asked angrily. "Call me back when you get this message." Logan said hanging up his phone. "Shit!!"

Loki was brought onto the Hellicarrier where he was transported to the circular spheric looking glass trap. Fury comes into view.

"In case it's unclear, you try to escape, you so much as scratch that glass, thirty thousand feet, straight down in a steel trap. You get how that works? Ant. Boot." Fury said.

"It's an impressive cage." Loki said. "Not built, I think, for me."

"Built for something a lot stronger than you." Fury said.

"Oh, I've heard." Loki said. "The mindless beast, makes play to be the man." That shot was for Bruce Banner aka the Hulk. "How desperate are you? You call on these lost creatures to defend you."

"How desperate am I?" Fury asked. "You threaten my world with war. You steal a force you can't hope to control. You talk about peace and you kill cause it's fun. You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did."

"Ooh. It burns you to come so close." Loki said taunting them. "To have the Tesseract, to have power, unlimited power. And for what? A world for all mankind to share, and then to be reminded what real power is." Loki said.

"Well let me know if real power will want some magazine or something." Fury joked.

"He really grows on you, doesn't he?" Bruce said

"Loki's gonna drag this out." Steve says. "So, Thor, what's his play?"

"He has an army called the Chitauri, that none of Asgard nor any world know. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the earth. Return, I suspect, for the Tesseract." Thor told them.

"An army? From outer space? So he's building another portal." Steve asked seriously.

"That's what he needs Erik Selvig for." Banner said.

"Selvig?" Thor asked.

"Loki has him under some kind of spell, along with one of ours." Natasha said.

He's an astrophysicist. He's a friend." Thor said.

"I wanna know why Loki let us take him." Steve said. "He's not leading an army from here."

"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki. That guy's brain is a bag full of cats, you could smell crazy on him." Bruce said.

"I don't care how you speak. Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard, and he's my brother." Thor said.

"He killed eighty people in two days." Natasha said.

"He's adopted." Thor said.

"Whoah. Look at this place. It's awesome." Came the voice of the only teenager on the Hellicarrier. They all noticed his speech impediment.

"Who let this kid on ship?" Fury said. "Who is he?"

"Director Fury. I'm Daniel Howlett." Daniel going over to shake Fury's hand. He didn't return the gesture. Daniel cleared his throat. He looked over at Bruce. "Dr. Banner. Hi."

"Hi." Bruce said responding to the young teen confused.

"Captain America. Steve Rogers. A pleasure to meet you sir." Daniel said extending his hand to shake Steve's who responds with the same gesture. He had read Tony's files on the players involved before coming up to the bridge of the Hellicarrier. "Thor God of Thunder from asguard. What is up?" He goes over to shake Thor's hand. Thor reluctantly returns the gesture. "Black Widow. Hi." Daniel goes over to her.

"Hey." Natasha said giving him a confused look. She turns away ignoring him. Daniel was put off by that. "What do we do about Loki?" She asked.

"Iridium, what did they need the Iridium for?" Bruce asked.

Daniel listened wondering what they were talking about.

"It's a stabilizing agent." Tony said moving into the conference area walking towards Agent Coulson.

"I'll fly you there. Keep the love alive. Means the portal won't collapse on itself, like it did at SHIELD." Coulson said.

"No hard feelings Point Break, you've got a mean swing. Also, it means the portal can open as wide, and stay open as long, as Loki wants." Tony said. "That man is playing gallaga. Thought we wouldn't notice, but we did." He said examining the area in which Fury commands. "How does Fury even see these?"

"He turns." Agent Hill said.

"Sounds exhausting." Tony said.

"Hey uncle Tony." Daniel said.

"Shush." Tony said to Daniel. "The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. Only major component he still needs is a power source. A high energy density, something to kick start the cube."

"When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" Agent Hill asked.

"Last night. The packet, Selvig's notes, the Extraction Theory papers. Am I the only one who did the reading?" Tony asked.

"Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?" Steve asked.

"He's got to heat the cube to a hundred and twenty million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier." Banner said.

"Unless, Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunnelling effect." Tony said.

"Well, if he could do that he could achieve Heavy Ion Fusion at any reactor on the planet." Bruce said.

"Finally, someone who speaks English." Tony said.

"Is that what just happened?" Steve asked.

"It's good to meet you, Dr. Banner. You're work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster." Tony said.

"Thanks." Bruce said reluctantly.

"Dr. Banner is only here to track the cube." Fury said.

"I was hoping you might join him." Bruce asked. Tony smiled.

"Let's start with that stick of his. It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a Hydra weapon." Steve said.

"I don't know about that, but it is powered by the cube." Fury said.

"And I'd like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys." Fury said.

"Monkeys? I do not understand." Thor said.

"I do." Steve said proud of himself. A man from a different time period understanding modern references. "I understood that reference."

"Hey are we not going to address the elephant in the room?" Natasha asked as they turned to Daniel.

"Who is this kid?" Steve asked.

"He's my nephew who is in serious trouble." Tony said as Daniel put his head down a little ashamed.

"Daniel Jacob Anthony Munroe Howlett." Agent Hill said. Daniel looked over at her shocked that they had his information. "He's the son of Ororo Munroe and Logan Howlett." Agent Hill said.

"Oh shit." Fury said. "You mean to tell me we have the son of the Wolverine and Storm in our custody?" He asked.

"Technically, he's not in your custody. Young Daniel here came seeking me out but got caught up in this." Tony said.

"Who are Ororo Munroe and Logan Howlett?" Bruce asked.

"Why did you call them Storm and Wolverine?" Natasha asked.

"It's their code names. Both are members of the group called the X-Men." Agent Hill said.

"They're mutants. We've kept tabs on them but have stayed out of their way. Mainly because they are of no threat to us or mankind. In fact they are a valuable asset. When called upon, they actually help out." Fury said. "I know about your parents son. In fact, I've worked with your father on a mission a long time ago. Ask him about it when you get home."

"Ok. Cool." Daniel said enthusiastically.

"He called you uncle Tony." Steve said.

"Yeah how is he your nephew?" Fury asked.

"He knows my parents." Daniel answered excitedly.

"It's true. I've known his mother Ororo for over twenty years. Ironically its the same amount of time I've known Logan who happens to be her husband. Was at their wedding." Tony said. "I was there when this one and his twin brother David were born and subsequently his second middle name is my first."

"Well that explains who he is. Why is he here?" Steve asked.

"He stopped Thor and I from really taking each other out." Tony said. "You shouldn't have gotten in the way." He said scolding Daniel.

"I wanted to see you and seized the opportunity to help." Daniel said smiling but Tony wasn't smiling indicating that he was pissed off with Daniel. Daniel's smile disappeared.

"What's with his speech?" Thor asked. Daniel frowned offended. Thor hadn't met to offend him.

"He was born with a defect. He's a bit mentally delayed and has a speech impediment." Tony said.

"What do we do with you?" Agent Hill asked Daniel who looked at the files for the Tesserac and for is mesmerized. "Daniel."

"Let me help." Daniel said. "I understand it."Daniel said.

"No you don't." Tony said.

"How?" Agent Hill asked.

"It's one of my abilities." Daniel said.

"Abilities?" Bruce asked.

"Did I forget to mention that he's a mutant?" Tony asked. They stared at him and then at Daniel. "And super IQ isn't one of your abilities."

"Ok. Tony he's your problem. Take care of him." Fury said. "

"Fine." Tony said. "Let's go." He said pulling Daniel with him.

"Cool." Daniel said being dragged away by the collar.

"Shall we play it, Doctor?" Tony asked.

"This way sir." Bruce said escorting Tony and Daniel to his lab.

Tony and Daniel stopped right before the lab. He shoved Daniel up against the wall.

"Ok, what the hell are you doing here?" Tony asked Daniel. Daniel was taken aback by his hostile voice towards him.

"I wanted to see you and talk but then I heard you over the computer panel and I figured I could help. I had no idea you are in the middle of a situation." Daniel said. "How cool is that?" He asked smiling. Tony wasn't smiling.

"You know you don't just come over to my place without asking first and second if your parents knew where you are, they have my balls on a plate. More like your mother will. Your father would cut me open." Tony half joked.

"Don't worry. It's not like they care where I am." Daniel said somberly. Tony softened up.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked.

"Nothing. Uncle Tony please let me help." Daniel asked.

"I need to call your parents." Tony said.

"Wait. Let me help and when this over I'll go home. Promise." Daniel said. Tony sighed deeply.

"Alright fine but you do as I say understand?" Tony said.

"Yes." Daniel said excitedly.

"Let's go." Tony said as they entered the lab. Daniel had been given a locker to place his bag in.

"The gamma readings are definitely consistent with Selvig's reports on the Tesseract." Tony said.

"But it's gonna take weeks to process. If we bypass their mainframe and direct a reroute to the Homer cluster, we can clock this around six hundred teraflops." Bruce said.

"All I packed was a tooth brush. You know, you should come by Stark Towers sometime. Top ten floors, all R and D. You'd love it, it's candy land." Tony said.

"You should see it Dr. Banner. It's awesome." Daniel added while trying to assisting in calibrating the numbers. Tony pushed him back.

"See it's awesome." Tony said smiling.

"Thanks, but the last time I was in New York I kind of broke Harlem." Bruce said.

"Well, I promise a stress free environment. No tension. No surprises." Tony said shocking Bruce with a small device. He didn't get the desired reaction he was looking for. "Nothing?"

"Are you nuts?" Steve asked coming into the lab. "You're gonna do that in front of a child?"

"You really have got a lid on it, haven't you? What's your secret? Tony asked ignoring Steve. "Mellow jazz? Bongo drums? Huge bag of weed?" He asked

"Is everything a joke to you? Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship isn't funny. No offense, Doctor." Steve said.

"No, it...it's alright. I wouldn't have come aboard if I couldn't handle pointy things." Bruce said.

"You're tiptoeing, big man." Tony said. "You need to strut."

"Don't worry Cap, uncle Tony is taking this seriously." Daniel said coming to Tony's defense.

"Stay out of this kid." Steve said. Daniel looked away. Steve felt bad but couldn't do anything about it right now. "And you need to focus on the problem, Mr. Stark."

"You think I'm not? Why did Fury call us and why now? Why not before? What isn't he telling us. I can't do the equation unless I have all the variables." Tony told him.

"You think Fury's hiding something?" Steve asked.

"He is a spy. He's a spy. Captain, he's the spy. His secrets have secrets. It's bugging him too, isn't it?" Tony asked looking over at Bruce.

"Uh, I just wanna finish my work here and..." Bruce said.

"Doctor?" Steve calls to him. He wants to know what he thinks.

"A world for all mankind, Loki's jab at Fury about the cube." Bruce said. Daniel wondered if that world included mutants.

"I heard it." Steve said.

"Well, I think that was meant for you." Bruce told him.

"Even if Barton didn't post that all over the news." Tony said.

"The Stark Tower? That big ugly..., building in New York?" Steve said getting a dirty look from Tony.

"That's the coolest building ever." Daniel said coming to his uncle's rescue yet again. Steve gives him a dirty look. This time Daniel didn't look away. He may be slow but Daniel is smart enough to know when someone doesn't like him. He was getting used to that.

"It's powered by Stark Reactors, self sustaining energy source. That building will run itself for what, a year? That's just the prototype. I'm kind of the only name in clean energy right now." Tony said.

"So why didn't SHIELD bring him in on the Tesseract project? I mean, What are they doing in the energy business in the first place?" Bruce asked. Steve thought about that for a moment.

"I should probably look into that once my decryption programme finishes breaking into all of SHIELD's secure files." Tony said.

"I'm sorry, did you say...?" Steve asked.

"Jarvis has been running it since I hit the bridge. In a few hours we'll know every dirty secret SHIELD has ever tried to hide. Blueberry?" Tony offered but Steve didn't budge.

"Yet you're confused about why they didn't want you around?" Steve asked getting annoyed at Tony.

"An intelligence organization that fears intelligence? Historically not possible." Tony asked.

"Seems weird to me." Daniel adds.

"No one was talking to you. What are you doing here?" Steve turned his annoyance towards the only teenager in the room. "Last time I checked mutants didn't exist." He said a cheap shot at Daniel.

"Yeah well they do and we've been around a lot longer than you think." Daniel said angrily and offended.

"He originally came to see me and grant it he shouldn't have come in the first place, he's here helping." Tony said. Daniel was confused. Was Tony coming to his rescue or was that scolding he heard directed at him in that statement?

"I think Loki's trying to wind us up. This is a man who means to start a war, and if we don't stay focused, he'll succeed." Bruce said.

"We have orders, we should follow them." Steve said.

"Following is not really my style." Tony said.

"And you're all about style, aren't you?" Steve asked.

"Of the people in this room, which one is; a-wearing a spangly outfit, and b- not of use?" Tony said earning a chuckle from Daniel. "Shut up Daniel." Daniel stopped laughing.

"Steve, tell me none of this smells a little funky to you?" Bruce asked.

"Just find the cube." Steve said.

"That's the guy my dad never shut up about? Wondering if they shouldn't have kept him on ice." Tony said.

"The guy's not wrong about Loki, he does have the jump on us." Bruce said.

"What he's got is an acme dynamite kit. It's gonna blow up in his face, and I'm gonna be there when it does.." Tony said.

"And I'll read all about it." Bruce said.

"Or you'll be suiting up like the rest of us." Tony said.

"Ah, see. I don't get a suit of armor. I'm exposed, like a nerve. It's a nightmare." Bruce said.

"You know, I've got a cluster of shrapnel, trying every second to crawl its way into my heart. This stops it. This little circle of light. It's part of me now, not just armor." That got Daniel's attention. "It's a terrible privilege. But you can control it."

"Because I learned how." Bruce said. "It's different."

"Hey, I've read all about your accident. That much gammer exposure should have killed you." Tony said.

"So you're saying that the Hulk, the other guy, saved my life? That's nice. It's a nice sentiment. Save it for what?" Bruce asked.

"I guess we'll find out." Tony said.

"You may not enjoy that." Bruce told him.

"You just might." Tony said to him.

Taking a break from the two geniuses, Danny spent some time walking around the Hellicarrier. He liked it. All the compartments on this big ship, he was enjoying himself. He stopped when he spotted Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow in her uniform walking along the path way towards the steel trap to talk to Loki. She senses him and stops.

"You know it's not polite to follow a woman." She said with her back to him.

"Sorry. I was just admiring your outfit." Daniel said. She turned to face him. She could tell Daniel was delayed mentally and would have to tread carefully with her comments and questions.

"Daniel right?" Natasha asked.

"Yes. I can't believe I'm standing in front the of Black Widow." Daniel said smiling.

"So you've heard of me?" Natasha said smirking.

"Yes ma'am." Daniel said.

"How do you know me?" Natasha asked.

"I read the files before coming up to the bridge of the Hellicarrier." Daniel said. Natasha nods slowly starting at him frowning. "And I might add you're hotter in person." Daniel said. Natasha smirked.

"Well you little flirt." Natasha said smirking. "You're a little cutie." She flirts playfully.

"Really is my flirting working?" Daniel asked attempting to flirt. Even with his speech impediment he was trying to sound cool. It sounded funny to Natasha.

"What do you think?" She asked. Daniel's facial expression changed a bit. He wasn't smiling but wasn't frowning either.

"I think you're teasing me." Daniel said. He knew he'd never stand a chance with her. He can't even date the girls in his class. He looked down at his feet.

"Tony mentioned you're a mutant." Natasha said.

"Yep." Daniel said. He knew shield had documents on his family the X-men so it didn't matter if they knew. Shield wouldn't be able to stop them anyhow.

"What kind of abilities do you posses?" Natasha asked.

"I can create force fields, seismic energy blasts, manipulate electricity, I can levitate and fly." Daniel told her.

"So that was you flying towards the jet?" Natasha asked.

"Yes." Daniel admitted to her.

"Interesting." Natasha said. "What other abilities do you have?"

"I'm a technopath, I have all vision abilities." Daniel said.

"Meaning what?" She asked.

"I could see using infrared, 3D, heat signatures, microscopic, telescopic etc." Daniel explained. I also have kinetic energy. I can cloak myself as well as everyone around me and I can create portals."

"Wow." Natasha looked on. She was amazed by his abilities yet she would never allow herself to show it. "What are you truly doing here?" Natasha asked her question throwing him off.

"Well I wanted to spend some quality time with uncle Tony. I didn't realize he was...well dealing with a situation. I just wanna help. My abilities will come in handy. You'll see." Daniel said smiling.

"How old are you?" Natasha asked.

"A mature fourteen." Daniel said. Natasha chuckled.

"Mature huh? Can't be all that mature when a fourteen year old intervenes on a potential world ending situation." Natasha said to him. Daniel's smile went away.

"I just want to help save the world." Daniel said.

"So you say." Natasha said. "Daniel do yourself a favor and stay out of this. A kid of your mental capacity and speech issue shouldn't try to do something you weren't met to do. Stay in you lane." She said then turning and walking away deciding to end their conversation. Daniel looked on realizing that Natasta was just another person who didn't like him wants no matter . All she really wanted to know was what this kid was doing on Hellicarrier. "I guess we'll see how helpful you'll be." She said while walking away. Daniel looked on hurt and uncomfortable. Natasha proved to be just another person who didn't trust him. He was use to this kind of treatment.

Daniel went to the room where his backpack is and heard his cell phone ringing. It was Ororo calling him for like the twelfth time. He let it go to voice mail. He sat on the chair and listened to all of the messages. If he didnt know any better, he swear his parents were worried for him. He knew his leaving was wrong but he didn't think they cared about him. He realized it must've been almost twenty hours on a Monday morning since he'd left home. He shook his head realizing the trouble he was going to be in.

The alarms began to blare signaling that there was trouble. Daniel quickly left the room. He was suddenly thrown back on the floor. He realized Tony was in trouble not to mention the other avengers members. Shots were fired. He took off and came smack dead into the cock pit of the Hellicarrier. Two gunmen were there to greet him. Daniel immediately took them out using his kinetic energy blasts and martial arts combination. Agent Hill and Fury took out two gunmen but then watched as Daniel did the same. He ran pass them going to find Tony.

Daniel found Tony and Cap tending to the engine that was damaged.

"Get back kid." Captain America yelled to him. Daniel ignored him and fought off the gunmen attacking him and Cap. He then levitated off the ground to help Tony. Tony was able to get free of the propellers while Daniel held a shield around him. Cap watched him realizing this kid is special.

"Are you ok uncle Tony?" Daniel asked.

"Yeah. Thanks kiddo." Tony said. Daniel nods.

When the commotion was over and they got back to the bridge of the ship, they found out that Bruce had changed into the Hulk and somehow got off the ship, Thor fell three hundred feet to the ground in the steel trap Loki was in met for the Hulk, Agent Coulson was killed, Loki had escaped and Haweye was in custody.

"Guess he never did get you to sign them." Fury said. "We're dead in the air up here. Our communications, location of the cube?" Fury asked.

"Banner, Thor. I got nothing for you." Agent Hill said. Captain America, Daniel and Tony are the only ones at the conference table.

"Lost my one good eye. Maybe I had that coming. Yes. We were going to build an arsenal with the Tesseract. I never put all my chips on that number though, because I was playing something even riskier. There was an idea, Stark knows this, called The Avengers Initiative. The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people, see if they could become something more. See if they could work together when we needed them to, to fight the battles that we never could. Phil Coulson died still believing in that idea, in heroes." Fury said. It was quiet for a moment. "Well, it's an old fashioned notion." He finished.

"Still wanna help Daniel?" Cap asked the young teen.

"Yes." Daniel answered without hesitation. Cap, Tony, Fury and Agent Hill could see the seriousness in his face. Daniel didn't know Agent Coulson all that well but knew he met something to shield. They were pretty impressed with what he could do. Daniel had only shown them a sample of what he is capable of.

Daniel remained at the conference table thinking about the seriousness of the current situation he finds himself in. Cap was still there along with Tony.

"Was he married?" Cap asked.

"No." Tony responds. "He was seeing a...cellist, I think." Tony said.

"I'm sorry. He seemed like a good man." Cap said.

"He was an idiot." Tony said. Daniel frowned.

"Uncle Tony!" Daniel said scolding him.

"What its true." Tony said.

"Why? For believing?" Cap asked.

"For taking on Loki alone." Tony responds.

"He was doing his job." Cap said.

"He was out of his league. He should have waited. He should have..." Tony said.

"Sometimes there isn't a way out, Tony." Cap said.

"Right. How did that work for him?" Tony asked.

"Is this the first time you've lost a soldier?" Cap asked.

"We're not soldiers! I'm not marching to Fury's fife." Tony told him.

"Neither am I." Cap said. "He's got the same blood on his hands that Loki does, but right now we gotta put that behind us and get this done."

"Now Loki needs a power source, if we can put together a list..." Tony said.

"He made it personal." Cap said.

"That's not the point." Tony said. "That is the point. That's Loki's point."

"He hit us all right where we live. Why?" Cap asked.

"To tear you guys apart." Daniel offers.

"He had to conquer his greed, but he knows he has to take us out to win, right?" Cap said.

"That's what he wants. He wants to beat us, he wants to be seen doing it. He wants an audience." Tony said.

"Right. I caught his act in Stuttgart." Cap said as the two they are thinking aloud.

"Yeah. That's just previews, this is...this is opening night. And Loki, he's a full-tail diva. He wants flowers, he wants parades, he wants a monument built to the skies with his name plastered..." Tony stopped realizing what Loki plans to do. Daniel realized it to.

"Uncle Tony, Loki is in New York. At Stark towers. That's where he plans to..." Daniel said.

"Open up a portal to...son of a bitch." Tony said. He turns and heads for his armor. Tony goes to fix his armor.

"Uncle Tony let me go with you?" Daniel asked.

"No. You'll just get in the way. You will stay here." Tony said.

"But uncle Tony." Daniel said.

"I said no!" Tony yelled. "The last thing I want is for you to get hurt. I don't care how many mutant abilities you have, you are still just a child. I don't want you hurt and I don't want your parents to kill me. You stay back understood?" Tony asked. Daniel nods. Tony puts his Iron man suit on and takes off heading towards Stark Towers.

Daniel ran down to the room to get his bag. Then he ran outside where the jets are. He was gearing up to fly but saw Captain America, Black Widow and another guy who he realized was Haweye boarding a jet. He decided to go with them.

"You guys aren't authorized to be in here." A crew worker said.

"Son, just don't." Captain America said.

"Sir." The worker said allowing the three onto the jet. Daniel snuck on board.

"What are you doing here?" Black Widow asked noticing Daniel enter the jet.

"I'm coming with you guys." Daniel said.

"Who's this?" Hawkeye asked.

"This is Daniel Howlett son of Ororo Munroe and Logan Howlett. Daniel meet Clint Barton aka Hawkeye." Black Widow said introducing the two.

"Nice to meet you." Daniel said.

"Like wise." Hawkeye said. "He's just a kid."

"A kid with powers." Cap said. "Daniel it's not safe."

"I can do this. Besides I have to help you guys out and make sure uncle Tony is ok." Daniel said.

"Uncle Tony?" Hawkeye questioned.

"Tony knows his parents and was there for his birth." Black Widow said summoning up what Tony told them.

"Ok." Hawkeye said. "Let's go save the world."

Tony arrived at his tower and finds Loki there. The two have back and forth chatter before Loki grabs his throat and tosses him out the window. Tony was able to summon another Iron man suit before he could hit the ground. He then hits Loki with a blast before trying to take out the device controlling the portal.

"Stark, we're heading north east." Black Widow said.

"What, did you stop for drive-through? Swing that park, I'm gonna lay them out for you." Tony said while flying in his suit.

The Jet crashed into a sidewalk. No one was injured. Daniel flys out of the jet to Hawkeye's shocked face.

The portal opens up and several chitari soldiers come through the portal. Daniel is in awe with the space creature. He pounds his fists ready for action. At fourteen he'd have to deal with an alien race trying to take over the planet he lives on with his family. He wouldn't let that happen.

"Hey kid you should get someplace safe while we take them on." Hawkeye said.

"Where would that be?" Daniel asked.

"You're guess is as good as mines." Hawkeye said readying his bow and arrow.

"I'm staying. They won't take this city or this planet. We won't let that happen. Right?" Daniel asked.

"You got that right kid." Tony said flying beside Daniel. "You were supposed to stay aboard the Hellicarrier."

"I know but I couldn't let you guys have all the fun." Daniel said.

"That's twice you've disobeyed me." He said as Daniel looked away. "You sure you're up for this?" Daniel smirked. He had been looking for the right moment to unleash his full powers and this was as good time as any.

"Oh yeah." Daniel said.

"Alright do your thing." Tony said as he, Cap, Black Widow and Hawkeye watched him levitate high enough to summon all the kinetic energy around him. All four heroes watched amazed at this tough boy's abilities. The energy ball forming in Daniel's hands grew wider. Daniel then unleashes it up in the air towards the portal. The blast destroyed some of the chitari soldiers but not all of them. "Alright fan out." He said seeing the chitari soldiers land on buildings near by. Tony was trying to figure out how to stop the big snake looking chitari. Daniel lands on the ground and summons his electrical energy shocking a group of chitari soldiers. Black Widow, Capital America and Hawkeye took on some of the chitari soldiers on the ground. Daniel uses his kinetic energy combined with his martial arts skills. Tony watched a moment before taking out the chitari soldiers from the skies. Thor soon joined the fight. The four heroes watched as Daniel took out a few more with his seismic energy blasts while levitating.

"This kid is good." Hawkeye said.

"Yes he is." Thor said.

"He's a mutant." Cap said.

"A mutant?" Hawkeye asked. "You mean they exist?"

"Yes and you're looking at one." Black Widow said having under estimated the young lad. "Oh and he's mentally delayed with a speech impediment." She said. Hawkeye looked over at her then back at him.

"So he's a handicap?" Hawkeye asked while he takes out a few more chitari soldiers.

"Well in a manner of speaking. Handicap people have physical disabilities. Daniel has a mental disability. He can still function like a normal kid though." Black Widow said. Most of what she said was true and the other was speculation.

"So he's slow?" Thor asked.

"Yeah basically." Black Widow said.

"That explains some things." Hawkeye said.

"In my day these people were called retarded." Cap said. Daniel heard him. He looked away sadly. They noticed this. Cap felt bad. "Damn!"

"I think he heard you." Thor said.

"I'm not retarded. I don't like that word." Daniel said. Thor could see what they mean by Daniel being delayed mentally heaving heard him speak.

"No you're not." Black Widow said.

"You kid are outstanding." Hawkeye said going over to shake Daniel's hand.

"Thanks." Daniel said a bit winded.

"I underestimated you kid." Cap said.

"We both did. Sorry bout that." Black Widow said.

"No worries." Daniel said smiling. The group smiled back at him.

"Well this all looks terrible." Bruce said getting off the little moped he arrived on.

"I've seen worse." Black Widow said referring to her encounter with the Hulk.

"Sorry." Bruce apologized.

"No we could use a little worse." She said to him.

"Nice to have you back Banner. Suit up. I'm bringing the party to you." Tony said as he turns a corner coming in their direction and bringing the monsters chitari snake like creature with him. Thor readied his hammer. Hawkeye readies his bow and arrow.

"I don't see how that's a party." Black Widow said readying her guns.

"It's a party alright and that big bastard had come to play." Daniel said. They turned to him.

"Uh Banner now would be a good time to get angry." Cap said.

"That's my secret Cap, I'm always angry." Bruce said before he changes back into the Hulk and jammed his fist into the snake like chitari creature stopping it dead in its tracks. Tony fired a shot at it destroying it. The blast sent debris and shards of the creature's destroyed body towards the heroes. Daniel puts up his shield to keep them from getting hurt.

"Cool." Daniel said. Tony lands on the ground still in his suit.

"Oh no." Black Widow said. The rest of the chitari army came barreling through the portal.

"Call it, Captain." Tony said.

"Alright, listen up. Until we can close that portal up there, we're gonna use containment. Barton, I want you on that roof, eyes on everything. Call out patterns and strays. Stark, you got the perimeter. Anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or your turn it to ash." Cap said.

"Wanna give me a lift?" Hawkeye asked.

"Right. Better clench up, Legoolas." Tony said lifting Hawkeye up off the ground.

"Thor, you've gotta try and bottleneck that portal, slow them down. You've got the lightning, light the bastards up." Cap said. "Daniel, use your kinetic blasts to take out as many as you can and get as many civilians to safety as you can."

"Alright." Daniel said then levitating and flying away to do exactly as he was told.

"You and me, we stay here on the ground, keep the fighting here. And Hulk, smash."

Hulk smiles and immediately takes off smashing any chitari soldiers on the buildings. Tony took out as many chitari as he could. Thor used the lightening to his advantage to slow the portal. Hawkeye called out patterns while taking a few out of his own. Cap and Black widow did their best to fight off the chitari soldiers. Daniel using his seismic and kinetic energy blasts taking out dozens of chitari soldiers. He also aided the police in getting people into safe locations.

Thor battled Loki in Stark Towers. Loki also went face to chest with Hulk but that wasn't much of a fight on Loki's part. Black Widow had to figure out a way to get up to Stark Towers to stop that device. She hitched a ride with one of the chitari soldiers aboard its little flyer stabbing it in the back to control it.

A missel was sent to destroy the city. Tony used the missel sending it into space destroying the rest of the chitari army. Without its signals in space, all of the chitari soldiers on the ground fell to its death. The others watched as Tony was free falling to his death. He had tried to call Pepper while in space as a final heroic goodbye but she didn't answer.

"Uncle Tony!!" Daniel shouts up at the sky towards the falling figure but he didn't answer. Natasha was able to close the portal. "I got this." Daniel said shooting up in the sky towards Tony. He extends his arms. "Gotcha." Daniel said triumphantly flying back down making sure to protect him. The cheers from the city's citizens could be heard. "Uncle Tony!" Daniel calls to him. He pulls off Tony's mask. Exposing his face. "Uncle Tony please wake up." He calls to him. The panick is written all over Daniel's face. "Please don't leave me." Daniel said in the verge of tears. Hulk gently nudges Daniel aside and screams at Stark who immediately wakes up.

"What the hell?" Tony asked waking up. "What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me?" He said as Daniel chuckled wiping the tears away that came down his face.

"We won." Cap said.

"Alright. Hey. Alright. Good job guys. Let's just not come in tomorrow. Let's just take a day. Have you ever tried shawarma? There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. You ever had shawarma nephew?"

"No." Daniel answered.

"I don't know what it is, but I wanna try it." Tony said as they smirked.

"We're not finished yet" Thor said referring to Loki.

"And then shawarma after." Tony said. Tony, Daniel, Cap, Thor, Hulk and Hawkeye all got up to the top of Stark Towers to join the Black Widow who holds the spectre. Loki crawls a few feet and realize the avengers team with young Daniel are behind him. He turns and spots them.

"If it's all the same to you, I'll have that drink now." Loki said. Tony shrugged deciding to let him have that drink after all. Thor placed special cuffs on him and along with a muzzle.

The group gathered at the time circle. Daniel is with them. He had his back pack with him. He looked at the avengers team wearing their regular clothes. All except Thor and Loki. Steve is wearing his khaki pants, button down shirt, dress shoes and a brown leather jacket. Natasha is wearing her beige leather jacket with a black blouse over a orange tank, black tight pants and black heel boats. Those jeans made her ass look great. Daniel smiled at the sight. Clint has on a red T-Shirt with black jeans and black boots. Bruce is wearing khaki pants and a button down shirt. Tony is wearing a stylish suit with his signature shades. He enjoyed having shawarma with the group. There was nothing better than good food after a long battle. Daniel was surprised cause he ate a lot.

"Take care Thor. It was great working with you." Daniel said. Loki rolled his eyes.

"It was a pleasure young Daniel. You truly do have a future as a hero. Might I suggest staying in school first?" Thor said.

"Yes." Daniel said as smiling. They watched as Thor and Loki disappeared.

"Little man you are special to watch." Clint said to him.

"Thanks. You're awesome." Daniel said smiling. Clint smirked.

"Here that Nat? I'm awesome." Clint said as she rolled her eyes smiling.

"Listen you little flirt you. I'm sorry for doubting you." Natasha told him Putting her hand on his shoulder. Daniel liked that she touched him.

"It's ok." Daniel said. "How's about dinner with me tonight?" He asked smirking. Clint, Tony and Bruce laughed. Natasha couldn't help but laugh to.

"Maybe next time little man." Natasha said kissing him on the cheek. Daniel's face lit up. "You go home. You behave or I'll find you and beat you got it?" Natasha said to him.

"Yes ma'am." Daniel said as she and Clint walked away. She had already given Bruce his bag.

"Time to get you home little man." Tony said.

"Ok." Daniel said getting in the back with Bruce's bag.

"Hey you wanna meet some friends of mine?" Tony asked Bruce.

"Sure." Bruce said.

"Cool." Tony said he started the car and drove off. "Daniel check your phone. I'm assuming your mother has called you a number of times." Daniel takes out his phone and checks his messages. He realizes Ororo and Logan called him twenty times between them. "How many messages?" Tony asked

"Twenty." Daniel said.

"Call them." Bruce said. Daniel dials the house number.

"Hello." Ororo answered sounding worried.

"Hi mom." Daniel said.

"Daniel!! Thank god." Ororo said sighing deeply worried for her little boy. Daniel heard Logan near her saying a few choice colorful words. "Where the hell where you?"

"I was with uncle Tony." Daniel said.

"Put him on the phone." Ororo said handing the phone to Tony.

"Hello." Tony answered.

"Tony, my son was with you this whole time and you didn't call me?" Ororo said yelling.

"I know I could've called and I'm sorry I didn't but something came up that couldn't be helped. Don't worry he's safe and sound. I'm on my way to drop him off. We'll see you soon." Tony said.

"Ok." Ororo said. They hung up the phone.

"Little man you're in deep shit." Tony said. Daniel drops his head realizing he was going to be grounded for the rest of his life.


	6. Chapter 6

Daniel (An X-Men Story)

Chapter Six: Punishment

Several hours have passed since Ororo received the phone call from Daniel. She informed Logan who is angrier than he's ever been. Jean, Scott, Alex, Rion, Emma and Professsor Xavier are there in the Howlett living room waiting on Daniel to return home. They heard a car pull up in the drive way of the Howlett home.

"Uncle Tony hey." John said going to hug him.

"Come here college man." Tony hugged him back. "John this is my friend Dr. Bruce Banner."

"Nice to meet you Jonathan." Bruce said shaking his hand.

"Same here." John said.

"Hey bro." Daniel said climbing out of the car. John rounds on him.

"Do you know how pissed off mom and dad are at you?" John asked yelling. Daniel lowered his head.

"Now now, let's get inside and talk." Tony said as the four made their way into the house.

"Look who's home." John said.

"Hi mom, hi dad." Daniel said.

"Daniel, Oh thank god." She said hugging him. Then she slapped him across the face. Everyone was shocked by that including Daniel who held his face. "Do you have any idea how worried we were?" She yelled.

"Where the hell were you?" Logan asked angered. Daniel knew they were upset but didn't realize his disappearing act would affect them. He doesn't realize their worrying for him was because Daniel isn't like other normal kids and can easily be taken advantage of. He's slow that way.

"He was with me. He wanted to talk and well something came up that couldn't be helped." Tony said.

"Dr. Banner thank you for joining us." Professor Xavier said. I'm professor Charles Xavier." He introducing himself.

"A pleasure." Bruce said shaking his hand.

"Dr. Banner, I apologize. I'm Ororo Munroe'Howlett. This my husband Logan Howlett." Ororo said shaking his hand. Logan waved. "These are my family Jean, Scott, Emma and Alex."

"Nice to meet you all." Bruce said.

"Jean, Emma, Alex good to see you guys again." Tony said.

"Like wise Tony." Alex said.

"How's it going Scooter?" Tony asked his question directed at Scott.

"Tony." Scott said hating the knick name.

"Uncle Tony!" Kendall squealed excitedly as she came running down the stairs. She was followed by Azari, Lucas, David, James and Oliver.

"Uncle Tony." Azari high giving.

"It's good to see you uncle Tony." Lucas said greeting the playboy billionaire.

"Good to see you guys again. My god, look how big you gotten." Tony said. "Guys meet my friend Dr. Bruce Banner. Bruce these are the Howlett kids. This big fella here is Azari, the lovely lady here is Kendall, this is Daniel's identical twin brother David.

"I can see. He has the ponytail." Bruce said referring to David.

"Yeah I never understood that." Tony said.

"The ladies like it. Can't disappoint them." David smirking. Tony smiled.

"Spoken like a true ladies man. This young man the skateboarding protegy is Lucas and James and Oliver."

"Nice to meet you guys." Bruce said.

"Same here." Kendall said.

"Now that we've all met, lets get to the real issue at hand. Daniel leaving the mansion without telling us where he was." Logan said angrily. "Why the fuck did you do that?" He asked angrily.

"What were you thinking?" Ororo asked angrily. Daniel couldn't respond.

"Idiot move bro." John said.

"Look who we're talking to. He always does things like this." Azari said.

"Very dumb of you." David said.

"You had mom and dad worried." Kendall said.

"Stupid thing to do Danny." Lucas adds.

"You had us worried when we couldn't find you." Alex said.

"You can't just run off without telling someone where you are." Emma said. Daniel looked down ashamed.

"What if something happened to you?" Kendall asked. Daniel didn't respond. He didn't think they cared. "How do you think we'd feel? How do you think mom and dad would feel?" Daniel doesn't answer.

"What were you doing?" Jean asked.

"What happened in New York City?" Emma asked. She couldn't help it. Dr. Banner was projecting his thoughts. She now knew what he was and what happened.

"Well that was the thing that came up." Tony said.

"How did you get to the city?" Scott asked.

"I took the bus to Stark Towers hoping to spend a day or two with uncle Tony but he wasn't there. I figured out where he was and met him there." Daniel said.

"Long story short, Daniel helped me and my hero friends save the city." Tony said. He didn't want to go into detail fearing they'd tear Daniel down more than they already have.

"Wait he was involved in that fiasco in New York City?" Logan asked. Secret's out.

"Yeah dad. It was awesome I got to help battle the chitari." Daniel said as they all looked in his direction. He notices all the concerned and angered faces around the room. Tony and Bruce weren't smiling either. Daniel now realized why his family was angry with him.

"Tony, how could you put my son in danger?" Ororo asked.

"You know he's slow and can't understand things that well." Logan said. Daniel frowned.

"I didn't do it on purpose Roh. I didn't even know he was coming to see me...which I'm still not happy about by the way. I was in the middle of a heated conversation with my friends. It wasn't until he shows up that it was too late to call. Rest assure he was safe." Tony said. Ororo sighed deeply. "I should've called you the moment he showed up and I'm sorry for that. I promise that will never happen again because Daniel will be calling me from now on and you will get permission from your parents to visit me right?" Tony asked. Daniel nods.

"Daniel, you know how important it is for our kind to remain anonymous. You are a mutant and we don't want to run the risk of something happening to our family." Professor Xavier said.

"I understand Professor but I wanted to talk to Uncle Tony and when I figured out what he was doing, I saw an opportunity to help. I didn't mean to upset you guys. I'm sorry." Daniel said.

"What is this need you have to help everyone?" Ororo asked.

"I don't know." Daniel said.

"When are you going to realized that nobody wants nor needs your help?" Logan asked getting in Daniel's face. Bruce watched feeling bad for Daniel. He understood what Daniel wanted to talk about. He could see that Daniel was feeling ganged up on. Daniel looked down at his feet. "You're just a child Daniel. You're help is not needed." Logan said angrily. "You are not a normal boy Daniel. You are mentally delayed with a speech problem and anyone can take advantage of you and you wouldn't know it. That is the reason we do not ask you for your help. We simply don't need it." Logan said to him. Daniel stared at him with a mixture of hurt and sorrow. It dawned on the young teen that no one trusted him to do anything on his own. They treated him like a retarded child.

"I'm sorry dad." Daniel said.

"You're sorry huh? You will be cause you're grounded until further notice. Are we clear?" Logan asked.

"Yes." Daniel said.

"Get your ass up to your room. Now." Logan said angrily as Daniel grabbed his bag and headed up to his room. They watched him angered.

"Logan, again I really am sorry I didn't contact you guys sooner. I would've sent him back home." Tony said.

"I don't mind it that he visits you Tony, he should've said something." Logan said.

"So we didn't have to worry about where he was or if something happened to him." Ororo said.

"We understand. Please don't be too hard on him." Bruce said. "He means well."

"Yeah well, he'll know better by the time he's off punishment." Ororo said.

"Where's Rion and Megan?" Tony asked.

"He's on vacation with her. We're watching Matt and Owen." Logan said sitting down on the couch.

"So how's things here?" Tony asked.

"Good. Kendall's getting straight A's. Lucas is getting better grades." Logan said smiling.

"Hot teacher?" Tony asked Lucas who smiled.

"Oh yeah." Lucas said as they laughed.

"Yep. I remember those days." Tony said.

"These two are doing good. Well James is doing well. Oliver is getting straight A's." Ororo said smiling.

"And I'm happy to report that James isn't coping off my paper and doing well on his own." Oliver said as they chuckled. James playfully pushes him.

"John here is a college man and Azari's football team is undefeated." Ororo said proudly.

"David has a girlfriend." Logan said smirking.

"Yep I asked Candice out and she said yes. We're going out tomorrow night." David said bragging.

"Nice!! Way to go kid." Tony said as Bruce smiled. "These kids are awesome." Tony said smiling.

"So proud of my kids. Except Daniel." Logan said as the others looked over at him. "I'm gonna bar b que. Would you two like to hang out for a bit?" Logan said.

"Sure." Bruce said.

"Yes." Tony said as they headed out to the backyard.

While Logan bar b qued, Tony spent time with the kids. He was a tossing the football with Azari and the boys. He got to meet Matt and Owen. He played referee as the guys played a mini football game. He let David show off his pitching skills. Bruce got to chat with Professor Xavier and the ladies. Scott and Alex played coach to each of the teams. Kendall helped Logan with the food. Bobby, Rogue, Kitty, Peter, Jubilee, Evan and Theresa joined them. They were introduced to Bruce having already met Tony.

Daniel stood in his room and watched them all having fun. He was confined to his room. A plate of food was sent up to his room by Kendall. He felt bad that he had angered his parents but felt that they didn't care. He wanted to talk to Tony but because of Loki and the chitari, that conversation never took place. He was hurt that his parents hadn't come up to the room to talk with him but then again they never had. Daniel watched as his parents, aunts, uncles and the professor all smiled at his siblings. Even Tony and Bruce seemed impressed with his siblings. He truly did feel alone. He turned off his light and went to bed.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven: Distance

A few weeks had passed since Daniel's disappearing act. He hadn't been allowed to do much except go to school, karate class and back home. His family had kept their distance as well. During dinner, they'd talk about one thing or another while Daniel stayed silent. Logan hadn't looked his way. Ororo looked his way a couple of times but Daniel hadn't looked up fearing he'd get dirty looks. He was even left behind when the family went to Azari's game.

He tried calling Tony but he was too busy to take his calls. Daniel would try reaching out to his classmates but was pushed away. He knew not to bother David with his friends. He would watch David with Candice. The two looked cute together. David had invited Candice to have dinner with his family. He even got to meet her family and they liked him a lot. Ororo and Kendall took to Candice right away. David was relieved to know that his girlfriend got along with his family. He felt lonelier than he's ever felt. Daniel was starting to think that changing schools was a mistake.

Today was a Saturday. Daniel would try make amends with his family. John and Azari watching a movie with Kitty and Azari's new girlfriend Tina Hatcher. Tina is sixteen with a caramel complexion light brown eyes and a beautiful body. She was tiny compared to Azari's tall stature but she liked him a lot. She was the envy of all the girls in school who wanted him. No matter what he said Azari is a one woman kind of guy. He and John were like Logan in that regards. Daniel hadn't met her yet.

"Hey bros." Daniel said coming into the he living room. Both John and Azari looked back and saw him coming.

"Oh God." Azari said.

"Daniel hey." Kitty said being polite.

"What do you want?" John said as Daniel looked over at him hurt.

"Who's this?" Daniel asked looking at Tina.

"Tina this is Daniel our brother. Daniel this my girl Tina." Azari said.

"He looks like David." Tina said.

"Yeah they're twins. David is the smarter of the two." Azari said. John smirks. Daniel looked away hurt.

"Nice to meet you beautiful." Daniel said being polite while flirting. His speech impediment making it difficult to take him seriously.

"Nice to meet you to." Tina said smiling politely.

"What are you guys watching?" Daniel asked.

"A movie." John said sarcastically.

"Daniel go away." Azari said. "Can't you see we're on a date?"

"Can I watch with you guys?" Daniel asked.

"No go away!" Azari yelled.

"Fine." Daniel said leaving the house and heading for the Xavier mansion.

"Do you think you were hard on him?" Tina asked.

"Nope." Azari said as John laughed. Kitty nudged him.

He found David with Candice outside shooting hoops. It was just the two of them alone. David was showing her how to shoot the ball. She was dressed in sweat pants that showed off her ass and a t-shirt underneath a sweatshirt that showed off her generous bust size. She's not showing her cleavage but you can tell she is blessed. Daniel made his way over to the two.

"Hey bro. What are you up to?" Daniel asked. David turned to him annoyed.

"Hanging out with my girlfriend. Why?" David asked. Candice didn't really like the way David spoke to Daniel but it wasn't her place to say anything.

"I was wondering if I could play ball with you two?" Daniel asked.

"No way. My girl and I want some time alone so go away." David said.

"David it's ok if he plays." Candice said.

"No. I want some time alone with you. He always interrupts me and the rest of my family. Just go away." David said angrily. Daniel turned and walked away. Candice gave David a stern look.

Daniel found Oliver in the medical lab with Jean and Megan. They were teaching him about medical stuff because Oliver showed an interest also the fact that because he recognized a lot of the terminology as well as to what they did. Daniel made his way into the lab.

"Hey." Daniel said. They looked over at him.

"What do you want Daniel?" Jean asked.

"I wanted to know if you guys want some..." Daniel said before being cut off.

"Help. No thanks." Oliver said. Daniel looked at him hurt.

"We're fine in here Daniel." Megan said. Daniel turned and walked away out of the medical bay.

He found Kendall working on her katas with Matt, Owen, Tyler, Lex and Nate. Rion and Alex are watching. He watches them. Once they were done, he clapped along with the other children.

"Great job guys and girl." Alex said.

"Yeah your training is taking form.." Rion said. "I'm proud of you all."

"Thanks." Matt said.

"Now I want you to work on your self defense moves then we'll be done for the day." Rion said. They bowed.

"Hey uncle Rion uncle Alex, can I train with them?" Daniel asked.

"In the middle of their class?" Alex asked. Daniel didn't respond.

"Daniel you have class tonight. So wait until then." Rion said.

"Can I teach tonight?" Daniel asked.

"No." Rion said.

"Why not?" Daniel asked. "I'm a brown belt I should be able to teach a class."

"You maybe a brown belt but you are not ready to teach." Rion said as Daniel walked away. Alex felt bad but said nothing.

Daniel found Lucas, and James in the lounge with other kids in the playing table soccer. He figured he could get to play a game.

"Hey guys can I play?" Daniel asked.

"No. We're playing." James said.

"Can I play winners?" Daniel asked.

"No man." Lucas said.

"Maybe we can play teams." Daniel said.

"No. Go away." James said.

"Fine whatever." Daniel said walking away.

Daniel knocked on the Professor's door. He thought maybe he could talk to the professor. He could hear the professor talking to someone. He didn't want to disturb him but hd needed to talk. He knocked on the door.

"Enter." Professor Xavier said. Daniel enters the office. He noticed that Emma, Hank and Ororo were in the office with Hank.

"Professor I..." He stopped when he saw Ororo.

"Daniel how can I help you?" Professor Xavier asked.

"I wanted to talk to you alone." Daniel said.

"What are you doing out of your room?" Ororo asked.

"I uh wanted to come and apologize." Daniel said lying. Professor Xavier and Emma knew he was lying about that but didn't say.

"You've apologized Daniel. So I assume you want to be off punishment?" Ororo asked.

"Yes." Daniel said.

"No. Not yet." Ororo said.

"What did you want to talk about?" Professor Xavier asked. Daniel stammered but chose not to say the real reason he wanted to talk. He didn't want to talk in front his mother, Hank and Emma.

"Nothing never mind." He said then exiting the room. Emma and Professor looked over at each other.

Daniel headed to the garage. There he found Logan and Scott working on the car. Those two had never really gotten along until both were married. They had put aside their differences and are closer now.

"Dad." Daniel said as both Logan and Scott looked up at him. "Can I help with the car?" Scott looked over at Logan. Logan rolled his eyes.

"Daniel you're still grounded." Logan said roughly.

"I know I just wanted to..." Daniel said before Logan cut him off.

"What?! You just want to what?!" Logan asked yelling. He was frowning.

"Wanted to help." Scott said. "It seems to be a theme with him."

"Daniel, we don't need your help. Now go back to your room and stay there understand?!" Logan yelled. Daniel nods and turns heading back to his room. He spent the rest of the day catching up on his studies and reading. What was he to do?


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight: Birthday Bummer

Having spent the last few weeks alone, Daniel was finally let off punishment. He was excited because his fifteenth birthday is today. He wondered what his parents would be doing to celebrate.

He came downstairs to the kitchen wondering what was for breakfast. He saw Ororo and Logan planning something.

"Good morning." Daniel said smiling.

"Good morning." Ororo said. Logan grunted.

"Do I look older to you two?" Daniel asked. They looked at him.

"No." Logan said without looking at him.

"Why would you ask?" Ororo asked.

"Well because something special is happening today." Daniel said. They hadn't responded. Daniel noticed they were preoccupied. "Hey what are you guys doing?" Daniel asked.

"The final game is tonight." Ororo said. Daniel's face dropped. Did she just say the game was happening tonight? On his birthday? "If they win, they'll move onto the playoffs."

"Oh." Daniel said. "There's something else happening today as well."

"Oh yeah what?" Logan asked.

"You guys don't know?" Daniel asked. "This day is not just special for me but for someone else to."

"No. What else is happening today?" Ororo asked. Daniel was dumbfounded. Were they doing this deliberately or did they really forget his birthday?

"Nothing I guess." Daniel said. They went back to what they were doing. Daniel circled the date on the calendar so they wouldn't forget. He grabbed his backpack and left the house for school.

During the school day, Daniel had been hoping that one of the teachers would wish him a happy birthday but nothing came. He watched as the teachers wished David a happy birthday. In fact his friends all wished him a happy birthday. Daniel spent the rest of the school day by himself.

He watched as David's friends including Candice were secretly planning something for David. He thought that they would include him. He heard Candice say that everyone was meeting at the pizza shop after the game. Daniel would show up there.

On the way home riding his bike, Daniel kept thinking that his parents couldn't forget his birthday. Even though Azari has his final game of the season tonight, he still didn't really think his parents would forget his birthday. He decided to wait and see. He noticed all of the posters and banners supporting the high school football team. The team has been undefeated and it looked to finished off the season that way catapulting them into the playoffs. Daniel rode his bike to the side of the house and headed into the house.

Once in the house, Daniel went searching wondering where his birthday cake and presents were. He checked the fridge and saw no cake. He saw no balloons or birthday cards. He went up to his room and saw no presents. He sat down on his bed. They really did for get his birthday. He frowned hurt at this. He remembered the pizza shop and decided to leave the mansion grounds heading back out on his bike. The pizza shop wasn't that far away.

He arrived at the pizza parlor in time to see his parents, aunts, uncles and siblings heading into the place themselves. He smiled.

"SURPRISE!!!" Candice and the others yelled to David who looked shocked. "Happy Birthday!"

"Wow you guys thank you so much." David said smiling. "How did you guys pull this off without me knowing?"

"You can thank Candice for that." Ororo said smiling. David pulls her into his arms and kisses her.

"My boy." Logan said smiling.

"Our brother." Azari said as he, John, Lucas, James, and Oliver high fives each other. Kendall smiled.

"Thank you baby." David said to her.

"You're welcome." Candice said smiling.

"Alright lover boy, let's celebrate." Clay said as everyone cheered. Everyone ate pizza, cake, ice cream and soda. Daniel watched hurt. Where was the birthday wishes for him? He turned got back on his bike and took off heading home.

Ororo was looking around for Daniel. Today was his birthday to. Then she realized that Candice threw this party for David. Daniel would have to have his own party. She watched as David received presents from his friends, girlfriend and family. Daniel was nowhere to be found.

He let the tears fall down his face as he cried. Daniel arrives back at the house and went straight to his room. He laid back on his bed crying before he eventually fell asleep.

Hours had passed by. The entire mansion including all the children in houses were noisy. Azari had scored the winning touchdown and was the team's mvp. His team had won their finale game completing an undefeated season and would be heading to the playoffs. Everyone came into the house cheering. Azari and his team were still out celebrating and Logan allowed him to stay out until1am as long as John went with him. Not only had John gone with him, Kitty, Bobby, Rogue, Evan, Theresa, Jubilee and Peter went with him. They had stayed at the pizza shop still celebrating David's birthday with his friends. David and his friends watched the game from the pizza shop. Candice's parents let her stay out a little longer as long as she was given a ride home. David said his brother John could give her a ride home.

James, Oliver, Lucas, Kendall, Ororo, and Logan came into their home carrying Azari's mvp trophy. The kids had foam hands. Everyone was wearing fan jerseies with Azari's name and number on the back. Logan was extremely happy and proud. He couldn't wait to see his son compete in the playoffs. Nothing like having athletes in the family. He certainly was good at playing the game. Ororo was proud to. She was always afraid when watching him play the game because he could get hurt but he always seemed to be ok.

"That was some game." Kendall said excitedly.

"Yeah Azari did his thing." Lucas said.

"He ran 221 yards and rushed for three touchdowns including the winning one." James said.

"I think that's some kind of record." Oliver said.

"Yeah." James said. "Even better, his team is back in the playoffs. I can't wait to see it." He said excitedly.

"Oh yeah." Lucas said excitedly.

"What do you think honey?" Ororo asked Logan while standing in the kitchen.

"Awesome game." He said smiling. "Playoffs here we come." He said smiling. She laughed as well. "David's birthday party was good to." He said.

"Yeah it was." Ororo yeah it was. "Daniel was nowhere to be found. It's his birthday to."

"We'll have to give him a separate party." Logan said.

He was standing at the bottom of the staircase staring down at his family.

"Daniel." James said seeing Daniel standing at the staircase. "Happy Birthday bro." He said. Daniel said nothing. He turned and went back up to his room.

"Oh god Logan. What are we gonna do? We have to make this up to him." Ororo said.

"We can do something for him tomorrow. We'll have the family here to celebrate with us." Logan said sighing feeling bad for remembering one son's birthday while forgetting his other one.

"We can get him some gifts tomorrow." Lucas said.

"I'm gonna go check on him." Ororo said heading up to Daniel's room. Daniel had gotten ready for bed and then climbed into his bed. He turned his light off not wanting to be bothered. Ororo knocked on the door. "Daniel." No response. "Daniel honey you awake?" No response. "I'm so sorry about your birthday. We're gonna celebrate it tomorrow ok?" No response. "Daniel I know you're angry. I'm so sorry." She said as Daniel said nothing. She just turned and walked away.

Daniel let the tears fall down his face. How could they only celebrate David's birthday and not his birthday? They hadn't even said happy birthday. They just forgot. Totally fucked up. He didn't want to celebrate his birthday tomorrow. Today was his birthday. He just wanted to forget it and move on. At least now he knows where he stands with his family. Hell Tony hadn't called to wish him a happy birthday. His life sucked.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine: Holiday Meltdown

The holidays were here. Daniel was in no mood to celebrate anything especially since his own family forgot his birthday. The day after his and David's birthday, his family tried to celebrate his birthday but Daniel didn't want to and did everything he could to avoid his family. Ororo was worried for him while Logan chalked it up to him feeling bad. He gave Daniel his space.

Jean, Scott and the others noticed Daniel's distance as well. He hadn't asked anyone to help them. He would go to school and even kept to himself there as well.

Candice noticed Daniel eating by himself. She felt bad for him. She had planned a birthday party for David forgetting Daniel. He hadn't spoken to her either. She felt bad thinking back to when he asked her out on a date. She would watch as Clay, Shawn and Willie would tease him. She even listened to David talk bad about his brother and didn't like that one bit but didn't do anything to stop the teasing.

Azari and his teammates are gearing up for another run in the playoffs. His mind was partially divided due to Daniel's distance. He would tease Daniel but got no reaction. He felt bad he had forgotten his own brother's birthday but remembered David's. Daniel was past that and vowed to never celebrate his birthday he shares with his twin.

Daniel spent his time by himself. He would wait until everyone went to bed before eating his dinner. He didn't even have breakfast. He would get up early and leave the house. Whenever someone would speak to him he gave them one word sentences.

Thanksgiving was no exception. Daniel chose to eat alone. While everyone was gathered at the table in the Xavier mansion eating, Daniel ate a table by himself with his back to everyone. Ororo, Logan, Rion and the others noticed. Rion, Emma, Jean and Professor Xavier would try to read his mind but he kept it clear so they wouldn't know his true feelings. They were shocked that a kid who is mentally delayed with a speech impediment had the where with all to hide his thoughts.

The children are to return to school today. Daniel had gotten up early and is dressed. He came downstairs heading to the kitchen and popped a pop tart in the toaster. He was checking his lunch box to make sure his lunch was there. He hadn't heard Ororo come downstairs.

"If you wait, I'll fix your breakfast." Ororo said. Daniel closed his lunch box as the pop tart popped up from the toaster.

"No thanks." Daniel said not looking at her.

"Daniel, I get it. You're still upset that we didn't celebrate your birthday. The silent treatment said it all but you've got to speak to us sometime." Ororo said.

"Wow, if you really think that's why I gave the silent treatment then you're clueless." Daniel said shaking his head taking his backpack, lunch box and walking out the house. Ororo sighed deeply. She had no idea what was really going on with him. One thing was for sure, something was wrong with her son.

Daniel is standing at his locker putting his backpack in it. He took out his book along with his pen and notebook. He hadn't noticed Candice coming up behind him.

"Hey Daniel." Candice greeted. Daniel turned around to face her shocked that she'd even speak to him.

"Hey Candice." Daniel said.

"How was your Thanksgiving?" Candice asked making conversation. Daniel found it odd that she'd be talking to him. The same girl who didn't even want to associate with him. She didn't even celebrate his birthday. Why was she talking to him.

"Why?" Daniel asked her.

"I don't know. Just making conversation I guess." Candice said not sure what was wrong with Daniel or why he was giving her attitude.

"Just making conversation huh. You wanna how my holiday was? Let's see. I spent it alone. Don't know if you heard but my brother led his high school football team to an undefeated season and they are going back to the national playoffs." Daniel said.

"Yeah I was watching the game from the pizza shop." Candice said.

"Yeah well the game was played on the same day my brother and I turned fifteen. In fact, you and your friends threw him a birthday party. No one cares that it was my birthday to. To make matters worse my parents would rather spend time with my brothers and my sister than me. So I gave my family the silent treatment all through thanksgiving. I'd rather spend that holiday alone than to spend it with people who don't care about me. Does that answer your question?" Daniel asked with a slight frown. Candice didn't know what to say. She had no idea he had to spend thanksgiving alone and that he was alone on his birthday.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." Candice said sounding sincere. Daniel gave her a sarcastic smirk.

"No you're not. Why are you even talking to me anyway? I don't think my brother would like that. Don't bother with the nice routine. We both know you don't like me." Daniel said shutting his locker then moving past her heading towards his class. Candice was shocked but not in an angry way. She knew Daniel was hurt at her for only celebrating David's birthday but there was more going on. She could tell he was hurt and alone. She hadn't met to make him feel that way but because she is dating David would do this for him.

The weeks before the Christmas break went by fast. Daniel continued to keep his distance. He hadn't even attend karate class instead choosing to work out on his own. His classmates noticed his distance. Especially Candice, David and their friends. She watched as Daniel did a two man science project on his own and got an A on the project.

Azari's high school football team won another national championship. He was excited about that and was the mvp of that game. The family celebrated his victory and the town of Salem celebrated with a parade of champions. Daniel chose not to attend again keeping his distance.

Ororo, Logan, Rion, Megan, Alex, Emma, Scott and Jean all went Christmas shopping for their kids as well as each other. The students who were able to go home for the holidays went. Professor Xavier ordered his gifts for everyone a month a head of time. He, Hank, Remy, Warren and Kurt sat wrapping the presents and making sure to put the names of the person who the presents belonged to. The ladies had gone to get food so they'd cook.

Christmas Eve, Ororo and Logan spent two hours wrapping the presents for their children. Scott and the others are with them doing the same thing. They all agreed to take the presents into the Xavier mansion in the lounge where the tree is. The kids could get it in the morning.

Christmas morning is here. James, Oliver, Lucas, Kendall, David, John and Azari came downstairs in their pajamas and bathrobes. Ororo and Logan followed them. Daniel was the last downstairs.

"It's Christmas." Ororo said.

"Merry Christmas everyone." Azari said smiling.

"Same here." James.

"Here where's our gifts?" Lucas asked.

"Same place they are every year." Logan said as the kids put their boots on along with their coats and took off out of their house out into the snow. They ran to the Xavier mansion.

The Howlett kids arrived at the lounge where there were a few kids opening their presents.

"Merry Christmas everyone." Ororo said greeting the group.

"Merry Christmas." Jean said. Emma got up to pore Logan and Ororo glasses of eggnog. She and Logan said smiling watching the kids open up their presents. John had gotten a gold watch, money and new clothes. Azari had gotten the keys to his new motorbike. He was ecstatic. He to was given money and a new wallet cause he needed one. David had gotten basketball jerseies of the New York Knicks, a Yankees Jersey and two pair of shoes. One of them timbs while the other were a pair of Jordans. Kendall had gotten her new iPod, cell phone and skates. Lucas had gotten two new skateboards and a several pair of jeans he had been asking for. Oliver got a new science and chemistry set, a new computer and beakers. James had gotten a new bike, a ps vita and several games. Matt and Owen had gotten presents along with Tyler, Nate and Lex. Bobby, Rogue, Evan, Kitty, Theresa, Jubilee and Peter all got presents. The adults all got presents for each other as well.

Daniel stood there watching as his siblings and cousins open their presents. He hadn't gotten anything. Ororo was the first to notice.

"Daniel aren't you opening your presents?" Ororo asked. Everyone turned to him. He looked at the Christmas tree which was empty. Everyone were surprised. He looked at back at Ororo. A look of pure hurt on his face. He turned and ran speeding back to the house. "Oh no. Not again."

"What happened?" Megan asked.

"Daniel hadn't gotten any presents. I could've swore we brought presents for everyone." Professor Xavier said ashamed. He wasn't the only one ashamed. Everyone felt bad. There they were opening up presents and Daniel got nothing. This was like his birthday all over again.

"I need to go check on him." Ororo said. She made her way back to the house and up the stairs to his room. She heard him crying. "Daniel honey, open the door. Let me come in to talk to you." She asked. Daniel didnt respond. He sobbed to himself.

"Leave me alone." Daniel said to her.

"Baby I'm sorry. Your father and I will take you shopping tomorrow. We'll get whatever you want. I promise." Ororo said feeling so bad and guilty.

"GO AWAY!!! Leave me alone!" Daniel yelled sobbing. Ororo stood at the door listening to him cry and feeling incredibly guilty. She reluctantly walked away from his door.

The one holiday where his family wouldn't forget him and they did. He let the tears flow down his face. Could his life get any worse? Yeah he was definitely keeping his distance. He didn't want to deal with people that didn't want him around. He spent the rest of the holiday alone.


	10. Chapter 10

Daniel (An X-Men Story)

Chapter Ten: Avengers Little Helper Pt. Two

Since Christmas, Daniel's attitude had certainly changed for the worse. He has continued to distance himself from his family. Ororo offered to buy Daniel presents but he turned her down. He's walked around with a chip on his shoulder. His behavior in school has taken a turn for the worse. He did his homework but barely paid attention in school.

Everyone had been asking Daniel if he was ok. He chose not to answer which gave them the indication that he wasn't ok.

David began to notice the change in Daniel and began to feel guilty. He even offered Daniel to hang with his friends but Daniel said nothing continuing to keep his distance.

Daniel had gotten his learners permit to learn to drive. He even paid for driving lessons while in school. It seemed to be the one class he enjoyed. He found that he is a good driver. He wouldn't be able to test for his actual license until he turned sixteen but still it didn't hurt that he could practice.

He arrived home from a driving lesson seeing his mother cooking lunch. She looked over at him wondering if he was ok.

"Hey." Ororo said. No response. "How was the driving lesson?"

"Fine." Daniel said.

"You should get cleaned up for dinner." Ororo said. No response. "Danny, are you ever gonna talk to us again?" She asked. Daniel turned and headed for his room without uttering another word. She sighed.

During dinner, everyone was eating and chatting. Daniel was eating his dinner. It was the first time in months since he's had dinner with his family. He said nothing. Azari was talking about his girlfriend.

"Tina is great. She's smart, funny, hot." Azari said as they laughed.

"Guess who else has a girlfriend?" Kendall teased.

"Who?" John asked.

"Lucas." Kendall revealed.

"Oh no. Not you to." Ororo said. "It was cute when you had a crush on your teacher but now you got a girlfriend."

"Yep and she's cute. Besides mom, my teacher is too old for me. I need a girl my age." Lucas said.

"What's her name?" Logan asked.

"Corina Shaw." Lucas said.

"She's in his class." Kendall said.

"Well did you at least ask her to be your girl?" Azari asked.

"Come on bro. You know me. Of course I got those digits." Lucas said. Azari cheered excitedly.

"That's my bro." Azari said smiling. "That makes four of us with girlfriends."

"Make that five. Kendall's got an admirer to." Lucas said.

"What?" Logan asked shocked.

"Oh god." Kendall said not at all worried.

"Who is this boy?" Logan asked. Ororo wore an amused smirk at her husband's overreaction.

"His name is Lenny Basken and he is a dork." Kendall said.

"He's a dork with a crush on Kendall." Lucas teased. James and Oliver laughed.

"You ain't dating no boys yet." Logan said very over protective of his only daughter.

"I know dad. I'm not into Lenny." Kendall said.

"Well at least Lenny had the courage to ask you out. Unlike our silent brother over there." Azari said referring to Daniel who hadn't said a word. "He can't even talk to girls. Am I right?" Azari asked.

"Leave him alone Azari." Ororo said.

"Still haven't asked any girls out. It's ok. He's a bit of a late bloomer." Azari said. Daniel said nothing. "He prefers to masturbate than ask a real girl out." He taunted as Lucas, David and John laughed.

"Fuck you Azari!" Daniel yelled angrily.

"You better watch yo self with me boy." Azari said warning him.

"Kiss my ass." Daniel yelled back.

"What did you say to me?" Azari asked standing to his feet. This was getting heated.

"You heard me." Daniel said standing to his feet equally angered his speech impediment causing him to stutter a bit.

"Bbbb, ddddd. What was that retard?" Azari asked angrily. Daniel frowned hard at him.

"Boys!" Ororo called to them.

"Why don't you chill the hell out?" Azari asked.

"Suck my dick Azari." Daniel yelled to him grabbed his groin. "How's that for chillin the hell out?" Daniel yelled back.

"DANIEL!!!" Ororo yelled to him.

"Watch your mouth." Logan yelled directing his anger at Daniel.

"He keeps messing with me and I get yelled at?!" Daniel yelled.

"Calm down." Logan said to him.

"Man the hell with this!" Daniel said angrily shoving his plate to the floor and running up the stairs. Ororo sighed deeply.

"What the hell is wrong with him?" Azari yelled.

"You keep provoking him." Logan said.

"You know how sensitive he is." Ororo said.

"Especially since his birthday and Christmas." Kendall adds.

"He needs to get laid." Azari said.

"Enough." Ororo said. Azari went back to eating his food.

Daniel was upstairs in his room packing a bag. He needed space away from his family and everyone at the mansion. He remembered that Tony had informed him that he was to call before coming over. He picked up his cellphone and called Tony. He got Jarvis and decided to leave a brief message. Daniel packed a change of clothes, grabbed his cellphone, wallet and jacket before moving leaving his room out the back door. He snuck around the house and left the mansion ground. This time, Daniel didn't have any money. Instead he figured out how to stowaway on the bus into New York City.

"Hey the lullaby worked better than ever." Natasha said.

"Just wasn't expecting the Code Green." Bruce said.

"If you hadn't been there, there would've been double the casualties. My best friend would've been a treasured memory." Natasha told him.

"You know, sometimes exactly what I want to hear isn't exactly what I want to hear." Bruce told her.

"How long before you trust me?" Natasha asked.

"It's not you I don't trust." Bruce told her.

"Thor, report on the Hulk?" Natasha asked Thor.

"The gates of Hel are filled with the screams of his victims." Thor said as Natasha turned to him annoyed. Bruce plants his head in his hands. "Eh, but, not the screams of the dead, of course, no no, uh...wounded screams, mainly whimpering, a great deal of complaining and tales of sprained deltoids and, and uh...and gout.

"Hey Banner, Dr. Cho's on her way in from Seoul, is it okay if she sets up in your lab?" Tony asked.

"Uh, yeah, she knows her way around." Bruce told him

"Thanks. Tell her to prep everything, Barton's gonna need the full treatment." Tony said.

"Very good sir." Jarvis said.

"Jarvis, take the wheel." Tony said.

"Yes, sir." Jarvis said. "Approach vector is locked."

"It feels good, yeah?" Clint said.

"I mean, you've been after this thing since SHIELD collapsed." Steve said.

"Not that I haven't enjoyed our little raiding parties, but..." Tony said.

"No, but this, this brings it to a close." Thor said.

"As soon as we find out what else this has been used for." Tony said.

"I don't just mean weapons. Since when is Strucker capable of human enhancement?" Steve asked.

"Banner and I'll give it the once over before it goes back to Asgard. Is that cool with you?" Tony asked as Thor nods. "I mean, just a few days until the farewell party. You're staying right?"

"Yes, yes, of course. Victory should be honored with revels." Thor said.

"Yeah. Who doesn't love revels. Cap'n?" Tony asked.

"Hopefully this puts an end to the Chitauri and Hydra, so. Yes, revels." Steve said.

The avenge jet arrived at avengers tower.

(speaking Korean)

"Lab's all set up boss." Agent Hill said.

"Uh, actually, he's the boss. I just pay for everything, and design everything and make everyone look cooler." Tony said

"What's the word on Strucker?" Steve asked.

"NATO's got him." Agent Hill responds.

"The two enhanced?" Steve asked.

"Wanda and Pietro Maximoff. Twins. Orphaned at ten when a shell collapsed their apartment building. Sokovia's had a rough history. It's nowhere special but it's on the way to everywhere special." Agent Hill said.

"Their abilities?" Steve asked.

"He's got increased metabolism and improved thermal homeostasis. Her thing is neural electric interfacing, telekinesis, mental manipulation." Agent Hill said. Steve looked at her not understanding what she means. "He's fast and she's weird." Agent Hill said.

"Well, they're going to show up again." Steve said.

"Agreed. File says they volunteered for Strucker's experiments. It's nuts." Agent Hill said.

"Right. What kind of monster would let a German scientist experiment on them to protect their country?" Steve asked.

"We're not at war, Captain." Agent Hill said.

"They are." Steve said before the elevator closed.

"How's he doing?" Natasha asked.

"Oh, unfortunately, he's still Barton." Dr. Cho said.

"That's terrible." Natasha joked.

"He's fine. He's thirsty." Tony said.

"All right. Look alive Jarvis. It's play time. We've only got a couple days with this joystick so let's make the most of it. Update me on the structural and compositional analysis." Tony said.

"The scepter is alien." Jarvis said. "There are elements I can't quantify."

"So there's elements you can." Tony said.

"The jewel appears to be a protective housing for something inside. Something powerful." Jarvis said.

"Like a reactor?" Tony asked.

"Like a computer." Bruce said.

"I believe I'm ciphering code." Jarvis said.

"You sure he's going to be okay?" Natasha asked. "Pretending we need this guy really brings the team together." She joked.

"There's no possibility of deterioration. The nano-molecular functionality is instantaneous." Dr. Cho said. "His cells don't know they're bonding with simulacrum."

"She is creating tissue." Bruce said.

"If you brought him to my lab, the regeneration cradle could do this in twenty minutes." Dr. Cho said.

"Oh, he's flatlining. Call it. Time?" Tony joked.

"No, no, no I'm going to live forever. Heh heh. I'm gonna be made of plastic." Clint said.

"Here's your beverage." Tony said handing him a cup of drink.

"You'll be made of you, Mr. Barton. Your own girlfriend won't be able to tell the difference." Dr. Cho said.

"Well, I don't have a girlfriend." Clint said.

"That I can't fix." Dr. Cho said.

"This is the next thing, Tony. Your clunky metal suits are going to be left in the dust." Jarvis said.

"Well, that is exactly the plan." Tony said. "And Helen, I expect to see you at the party on Saturday."

"Unlike you, I don't have a lot of time for parties. Will Thor be there?" Dr. Cho asked.

"What's the rumpus?" Natasha asked.

"Well, the scepter. Y'see, we were wondering how Strucker got so inventive. So, I've been analyzing the gem...inside...you may recognize.." Tony said.

"Jarvis." Bruce greeted the A.i.

"Doctor." Jarvis said.

"Started out, Jarvis was just a natural language UI. Now he runs the Iron Legion. He runs more of the business than anyone besides Pepper." Tony said.

"Oh." Bruce said.

"Top of the line." Tony said.

"Yes." Bruce said.

"I suspect not for long. Meet the competition." Tony said showing him the new program.

"It's beautiful." Bruce said.

"If you had to guess, what's it look like it's doing?" Tony said.

"Like it's thinking. I mean this could be, it's...It's not a human mind, it...I mean, look at this? They're like neurons firing." Bruce said.

"Down in Strucker's lab I saw some fairly advanced robotics work.They deep-sixed the data, but...I gotta guess he was knocking on a very particular door." Tony said.

"Artificial intelligence." Bruce said.

This could be it, Bruce. This could be the key to creating Ultron." Tony told him.

"I thought Ultron was a fantasy." Bruce said.

"Yesterday it was. If we can harness this power, apply it to my Iron Legion protocol." Tony said.

"That's a mad-sized if." Bruce said.

"Our job is "if." What if you were sipping margueritas on a sun-drenched beach turning brown instead of green. Not looking over your shoulder for VERONICA." Tony said.

"Don't hate, I helped design VERONICA. As a worst-case measure, right?" Bruce asked.

"How about a best-case? What if the world was safe? What if next time aliens roll up to the club, and they will, they couldn't get past the bouncer? The only people threatening the planet would be people? I want to apply this to the Ultron program. But Jarvis can't download a data schematic this dense. We can only do it while we have the scepter here, that's three days, give me three days." Tony said.

"So you're going for artificial intelligence and you don't want to tell the team." Bruce asked.

"Right. That's right, you know why, because we don't have time for a city hall debate. I don't want to hear the "man was not meant to meddle" medley. I see a suit of armor around the world." Tony said.

"Sounds like a cold world, Tony." Bruce said.

"I've seen colder. This one, this very vulnerable blue one? It needs Ultron. Peace in our time. Imagine that." Tony said.

Daniel arrived in the city getting of the bus at the terminal. He immediately hopped the train towards Stark Towers which is now Avengers Tower. He got off the train and made his way to Stark Towers. Daniel looked up at the sign noticing the change. He liked it. He stopped at the computer door to be let in.

"Hi Jarvis." Daniel said.

"Young Daniel." Jarvis said.

"Is uncle Tony home?" Daniel asked.

"You're in luck. He's here." Jarvis said then switching to notify Tony to Daniel's presences. "Sir, your nephew is here."

"Which nephew?" Tony asked knowing who it was.

"Young Daniel." Jarvis said. Tony sighed angrily. Bruce smirked. "Shall I let him in?"

"Yes." Tony said as Jarvis let Daniel in.

"Why is he back?" Bruce asked.

"I don't know but his timing is bad." Tony said as he leaves the lab to greet Daniel at the elevator. The doors open to reveal Daniel.

"Hey uncle Tony." Daniel greeted smiling.

"Daniel." Tony greeted him not happy he just showed up out of the blue. "He could tell something was different about Daniel. He was two feet taller, his hair was shorter and he is growing a bit a facial hair under his chin. But other than the physical changes. He noticed the slumped shoulders and his face was missing that glow he had the last time he saw Daniel. "What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you." Daniel said.

"You couldn't call me and talk over the phone?" Tony asked.

"No. I need some space from my family. Besides, I called and you didn't pick up. So I figured I'd just come here." Daniel said.

"Ok, well right now Bruce and I are working so you're gonna have to wait." Tony told him. He could see the disappointment in Daniel's face. Go to the eighth floor and put your bags in the guest room. I'll have to call your mother."

"Uncle Tony don't call her. Just let me stay a couple of days and then I'll go back home ok?" Daniel said sounding defeated. Tony didn't like how he sounded and decided not to call her.

"Ok. Go." Tony said before he changed his mind.

Daniel went to the eighth floor of Avengers Tower and found the rooms. He saw several rooms. He didn't know which one to occupy. He saw the last room at the end of the hall with door open. He went to that one. He gently opened the door and noticed the room had no one occupying it. The room had a bed, a dresser, a tv, a nightstand, and a book shelf in it. He went and closed the door. He put his bag on the bed and sat down. He thought about his situation. He ran off again to get away from his family and knew his parents would be pissed at him but didn't care. He needed to be away to clear his head. His cell phone rang. Ororo was calling him. 'Right on cue' he thought. He sent the call to voicemail.

For the next couple of days, Daniel would watch as Tony and Bruce worked on whatever project it was they were working on. It gave him time to think. Why had he come back to Stark Towers now Avenger towers? He wanted to talk but it was clear from everyone in his family including Tony that they didn't want to talk to him. He was alone and having no one to talk his feelings out with really bothered Daniel.

He was mad at Tony for forgetting his birthday. He didn't forget to send David money in a card. He didn't forget Kendall's birthday which was three weeks ago. He hadn't forgotten James or Oliver's birthday which was in January, the same month as Kendall's. Maybe that's why he remembered their birthdays. He certainly didn't forget to congratulate Azari on his championship and he didn't forget John giving him a gift for getting into college. Lucas' birthday was two weeks ago and Tony had sent him something. He even sent them Christmas presents albit the gifts came late but they came like the birthday presents, all were for his siblings. Daniel got nothing. Again he wondered what the hell he was doing there. Maybe he was there to confront Tony on forgetting him. Then again he hadn't done that with his parents so why was this different. Daniel sat on the bed with his head buried in his hands. He had no idea Tony was standing there watching him.

"Hey." Tony said as Daniel looked up. "I'm having a dinner party tonight. There's a suit in the closet. Get dressed. You can attend the party but you will not be drinking understood. It's punch for you."

"K." Was all Daniel said.

"You ok?" Tony asked him.

"Uh-huh." Daniel said getting up off the bed.

"You sure?" Tony asked.

"Yep." Daniel said without looking.

"Everything ok at home?" Tony asked. Daniel paused a moment. He wondered if he should tell him what was wrong. He decided to keep quiet.

"Everyhing's fine." Daniel said. Tony didn't know if he believed that but didn't push the issue.

"Alright. Get ready." Tony said before turning to leave. Daniel decided to take a quick shower before getting dressed. His phone rang again this time it was Logan who called. There are ten messages between the two. He let it go to voice mail.

"Sir you have an incoming message from Ororo Howlett." Jarvis said. Tony stopped in his tracks knowing what was coming.

"Put her through Jarvis." Tony said as the call came through. "Hey Ororo."

"Tony, please tell me my son is there with you?" Ororo asked sounding worried and defeated at the same time.

"Yes he's with me." Tony said.

"Did he just show up like last time?" Ororo asked.

"Yes but he did call a few times. I couldn't return the call because I wasn't available. I'm gonna safely assume he doesn't have yours nor Logan's permission to be here?"

"No not really. Although Daniel hadn't been in much of a talking mood in months. Not since his and David's birthday." Ororo revealed.

"What do you mean?" Tony asked.

"Well Azari's football team had their finale game of the season on the same day of Daniel's birthday. Then David's girlfriend and friends planned a birthday party for him forgetting Daniel. He was hurt by that. Christmas was worse. He didn't get a present at all. I could've swore that we got the kids what they wanted for Christmas. He was so hurt. He hadn't spoken much since. For awhile he wouldn't even eat dinner with us and would leave for school early to avoid us." Ororo said. Now it made sense why he came to see Tony. Tony felt bad to. He had forgotten Daniel as well.

"Wow." Tony said.

"I swear I've been trying to make up for it but he won't let me." Ororo said.

"He's hurt." Tony said.

"I know and I didn't mean to hurt him." Ororo said to him.

"I know. Listen why don't you let me talk to him and I will send him back home ok?" Tony said.

"Ok thanks Tony." Ororo said.

"No problem." Tony said before they hang up the phones.

He and Bruce continued working trying to figure out how to apply the A.I program to Ultron but it wasn't working. Bruce had

"What did we miss?" Tony asked.

"I'll continue to run variations on the interface, but you should probably prepare for your guests." Jarvis said. "I'll notify you if there are any developments."

"Thanks buddy." Tony said leaving the lab.

"Enjoy yourself, sir." Jarvis said.

"I always do." Tony said.

The party had gotten underway. The avenger teammates are scattered around talking to various guests.

(party chatter)

"All right, all right. Whoo! Come back, come back, come back! Well, you know, the suit can take the weight, right? So I take the tank, fly it right up to the General's palace, drop it at his feet, I'm like, "Boom! You looking for this?" James aka Rhodey said to Thor and Tony who just star blankly at him. "Boom! Are you looking..." Why do I even talk to you guys? Everywhere else that story kills." Rhodey said.

"That's the whole story?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, it's a War Machine story." Rhodey said.

"Well, it's very good then. It's impressive." Thor said. Tony smirked.

"Quality save." Tony said to Thor.

"So, no Pepper? She's not coming?" Agent Hill asked looking very fetching in her outfit.

"No." Tony said.

"Hey, What about Jane? Where are the ladies, gentlemen?" Agent Hill asks.

"Well, Ms. Potts has a company to run." Tony said.

"Yes, I'm not even sure what country Jane's in." Thor said trying to one up Tony. "Her work on the convergence has made her the world's foremost astronomer."

"And the company that Pepper runs is the largest tech conglomerate on earth. It's pretty exciting." Tony said going for the one up. Rhodey and Agent Hill looked on amused.

"There's even talk of Jane getting a, um, uh, Nobel prize." Thor said.

"Yeah, they, they must be busy because they'd hate missing you guys get together. Testosterone! Oh excuse me." Agent Hill said.

"Want a lozenge?" Rhodey asked her.

"Umm-hmm." Agent Hill responds.

"Let's go." Rhodey said he and Agent Hill walked away leaving Thor and Tony standing there.

"But Jane's better." Thor said as Tony looked at him.

"Sounds like a hell of a fight, sorry I missed it." Sam Wilson said as he and Steve walked up the stairs to the balcony.

"If I had known it was going to be a firefight I absolutely would have called you." Steve said.

"No, I'm not actually sorry. I'm just trying to sound tough. I'm very happy chasing cold leads on our missing persons case. Avenging is your world." Sam said. "Your world is crazy."

"Be it ever so humble." Steve said.

"You find a place in Brooklyn yet?" Sam asked.

"I don't think I can afford a place in Brooklyn." Steve said.

"Well, home is home, you know." Sam said.

Daniel got off the elevator of Avengers towers looking really good in his all black suit. He smelled great and trimmed his chin fuzz. His six foot frame and muscular physique made the suit fit well on him. He wasn't a normal fifteen year old. He looked eighteen. He looks around and can easily spot all of the avenger teammates. He saw Tony talking with Natasha who he thought looked fetching. He saw Thor talking to a group of men telling them about his trials and triumphs in asguard no doubt. He saw Hawkeye playing pool and Cap was talking to a guy he didn't recognize. That only left Bruce Banner. Where was Banner? He spots him with an Asian woman. He went to the bar to get a drinking.

"Excuse me." Daniel said. The bartender turned around. He looked at Daniel realizing he was a kid.

"Who let you in here kid?" The bar tender asks.

"My uncle Tony." Daniel said.

"How old are you kid?" The bartender asked.

"Old enough to want a soda." Daniel said. The bartender reached into the cooler and provided Daniel with a bottle of grape soda. "Thanks." Daniel said walking away.

"I fly it right up to the General's palace, I drop it at his feet, I'm like, "Boom! You looking for this?" Rhodey said telling the story again and getting the response he wanted.

"I gotta have some of that!" An old man told Thor.

"Oh, no no no, see this, this was aged for a thousand years, in the barrels built from the wreck of Brunhilde's fleet, it's not meant for mortal men." Thor said.

"Neither was Omaha Beach, blondie. Stop trying to scare us. C'mon." The old man said.

"All right." Thor said poring some of asguard' finest liquor into the man's cup. He gave Steve some as well.

"Excelsior!" The old man said taking a sip. The old man had to be carried out by his friends.

"How'd a nice girl like you wind up working in a dump like this?" Bruce asked Natasha having approached the bar. Natasha had taken over the bartender.

"Fella done me wrong." Natasha said to him while fixing two drinks.

"You got lousy taste in men, kid." Bruce said. Natasha is fixing them both drinks.

"He's not so bad." Natasha said. "Well, he has a temper. Deep down he's all fluff. Fact is, he's not like anybody I've ever known. All my friends are fighters. And here comes this guy, spends his life avoiding the fight because he knows he'll win." She said.

"Sounds amazing." Bruce said taking a sip of the drink she just made him.

"He's also a huge dork." Natasha said. Bruce looked at her. "Chicks dig that. So what do you think? Should I fight this? Or run with it?"

"Run with it, right? Or, did he, was he, what'd he do that was so...wrong to you?" Bruce asked.

"Not a damn thing. But never say never." Natasha said moving from behind the bar. Bruce watches her. It's obvious that he likes her and vice versa. Steve was watching.

"It's nice." Steve said.

"What, what, what is?" Bruce asked.

"You and Romanoff." Steve said.

"No, we haven't, that wasn't..." Bruce said.

"It's okay, nobody's breaking any by-laws. It's just, she's not the most...open person in the world. But with you she seems very relaxed." Steve said.

"No, Natasha, she...she likes to flirt." Bruce said.

"I've seen her flirt, up close. This ain't that. Look...As maybe the world's leading authority on "waiting too long"...don't. You both deserve a win." Steve said walking away.

"What do you mean, "up close?" Bruce asked.

"But, it's a trick!" Clint said.

"No, no, it's much more than that." Thor said. Daniel watched from the balcony.

"Ah, "whosoever be he worthy shall haveth the power!" Whatever man! It's a trick." Clint said.

"Well please, be my guest." Thor said.

"C'mon." Clint said standing up go pick up Thor's hammer. "Really?" Clint asked.

"Yeah!" Thor said.

"Oh this is gonna be beautiful." Natasha said smirking.

"Clint, you've had a tough week, we won't hold it against you if you can't get it up." Tony said teasingly.

"Y'know I've seen this before, right?" Clint said attempting to pick up the hammer and failing. "And I still don't know how you do it." He said.

"Smell the silent judgment?" Tony said as the others chuckled.

"Please, Stark, by all means." Clint said.

"Oh, here we go." Agent Hill said.

"Okay." Tony said standing up to attempt to pick up the hammer. Daniel continued to watch.

"Uh oh." Bruce said.

"Um-hmm." Natasha said.

"Never one to shrink from an honest challenge." Tony said.

"Get after it." Rhodey said.

"Here we go." Tony said attempting to pick up the hammer. "It's physics."

"Physics!" Thor said.

"Right, so, if I lift it, I then rule Asgard?" Tony asked.

"Yes, of course." Thor said.

"I will be re-instituting Prima Nocta." Tony said attempting to pick up the hammer. "Be right back." He said going to get the hand of his armor. Rhodey had joined him.

"Are you even pulling?" Rhodey asked.

"Are you on my team?" Tony asked.

"Just represent. Pull!" Rhodey said. Daniel was chuckling at th scene.

"All right let's go!" Tony said as they both tried and failed.

It was Bruce's turn. He yelled trying to pick up the hammer and getting confused stares. Daniel was laughing harder now.

"Huh?" Natasha shook her head no.

"Whoo!" Bruce yelled.

"Let's go, Steve, no pressure." Agent Hill said.

"C'mon, Cap." Tony said. Steve attempted to pick up the hammer and came the closet to picking it but only managed to lift it an inch off the table.

"Ha ha, nothing. Ha ha ha." Thor said.

"And? Widow?" Tony asked her. Bruce gestures for her to make an attempt at the hammer.

"Oh, no no, that's not a question I need answered." Natasha said.

"All deference to the man who wouldn't be king, but it's rigged." Tony said.

"You bet your ass." Clint said.

"Steve, he said a bad language word." Agent Hill said. Steve was embarrassed.

"Did you tell everyone about that?" Steve asked.

"The handle's imprinted, right? Like a security code..." Tony said. "Whosoever is carrying Thor's fingerprints" is, I think, the literal translation?"

"Yes, well that's uh, that's a very very interesting theory. I have a simpler one. You are all not worthy." Thor said.

"Nah!" The group said.

"Oh, C'mon!" Thor said.

"Daniel come down here." Tony called to him. Daniel looked down at the group.

"Who's that?" Rhodey asked.

"Tony's nephew." Bruce said.

"Nephew? I've know him a long time and didn't know he had siblings." Rhodey said.

"I don't. His mother is a close friend and her children call me uncle Tony." Tony said.

"Well that explains it." Rhodey said sipping his drink.

"Come on down little man." Clint said. Daniel looked down at them. Natasha can see how he's changed. Not just physically but something else has changed.

"Come down nephew." Tony called to him.

"You're gonna have to back up." Daniel said.

"What's he sbout to do?" Steve asked as they all looked up.

"Come down." Tony said. He and the others backed up off the sofa. All eyes were on Daniel now. Having finished his drink, Daniel put his can down backed up a notch before sprinting then doing two backflips off the balcony and landing perfectly on he floor. "Holyshit!!!"

"Yeah. Awesome!" Clint said as the group clapped for him. Daniel bowed.

"Nice job son." Rhodey said.

"Thanks." Daniel said. Rhodey notices his speech impediment.

"Daniel this my best bud Rhodey. Rhodey, my nephew Danny boy." Tony said.

"It's good to meet you Mr. Rhodey." Daniel as the group laughed.

"Same here and it's just Rhodey." Rhodey said as Daniel nods.

"It's good to see everyone again." Daniel said.

"Daniel this is Dr. Cho. Dr. Cho my nephew Daniel." Tony said.

"A pleasure Daniel." Dr. Cho said.

"Same here." Daniel said.

"So Danny how are things?" Agent Hill asked.

"Good." Daniel said. He was hiding how he was truly feeling. Tony knew.

"We assume you're here to talk to Tony?" Steve asked.

"Yeah." Daniel said.

"You look different." Agent Hill said.

"What do you mean?" Daniel asked.

"Well the last time we say you you were shorter and your voice was a little high." Bruce said.

"Yeah." Tony said looking at him. He was examining him like it was the first time he's seen Daniel in months. Maybe that's because it was the first time he's seen Daniel in months. "You're almost a foot taller. How tall are you?"

"Six feet." Daniel said.

"His voice is deeper." Thor said.

"That's puberty for you." Clint said.

"He's wearing the hell out that suit to." Natasha said taking a sip of her beer. Daniel looked over at her smirking. The guys caught this.

"Watch it Widow. He's fourteen." Tony said.

"Widow's got an admirer." Rhodey said.

"Fifteen." Daniel corrected him.

"What?" Tony asked.

"I'm fifteen now." Daniel said.

"Since when?" Natasha asked.

"Last November." Daniel said. Tony looked at him. It dawned on him that he had forgotten Daniel's birthday. He remembered David's and everyone else's birthday but forgot that he and David share a birthday. He felt bad.

"Happy belated." Natasha said.

"Thanks." Daniel said looking at his feet. Natasha caught this.

"So what did you get for you birthday?" Clint asked.

"Forgotten." Daniel said as the room fell silent. "My brother's last football game of the season fell on the same day as mine and my twin brother David's birthday. They celebrated my brother's birthday ignoring mine. My brother's girlfriend threw him the party everyone celebrated his birth. So yeah that's what I got for my birthday...forgotten."

"Uh Daniel, sorry about that buddy." Steve said. He could tell that this bothered him. Daniel tried to smile but it was fake. Everyone could see that.

"Maybe Widow could be his birthday present." Agent Hill said teasingly.

"Hill!" Natasha said.

"Hey you're the one who keeps eyeing Daniel." Agent Hill said.

"Hey he's still a virgin. I assume." Tony said.

"Uncle Tony." Daniel said a little embarrassed.

"Awwe, Tony's embarrassing him." Rhodey said.

"Hey Daniel would you give up your virginity to widow?" Clint asked.

"Yes please." He said earning a chuckled from everyone there. Natasha smirked. Bruce smirked.

"Hey is he slow?" Rhodey asked quietly to Agent Hill. She nods.

"Mentally delayed." Agent Hill responded quietly.

"I could tell." Rhodey said.

"Hey Daniel, if you were Bruce's age I'd give it you." Natasha said as everyone laughed. Daniel blushed.

"Hey what about me?" Bruce asked. "Am I not worthy?"

"Of course you are." Natasha said winking at him.

"Worthy...No...How could you be worthy?" A robotic voice speaks. The others are alarmed to the presence. "You're all killers.

"Stark." Steve said.

"Jarvis?" Tony said. Tony stood protectively in front of Daniel who didn't at the very least look scared.

"I'm sorry, I was asleep. Or...I was a dream? Reboot. Legionnaire 06's got a buggy suit. There was this...terrible noise...and I was tangled in... in...strings. Had to kill the other guy. He was a good guy.

"You killed someone?" Steve asked.

"Wouldn't've been my first call. But, down in the real world, we're faced with ugly choices." The Robot said.

"Who sent you?" Thor asked.

"I see a suit of armor around the world." The robot's recording playback what Tony said earlier.

"Ultron!" Bruce said as Natasha turned to him surprised.

"In the flesh. Or, no, not yet. Not this...chrysalis. But I'm ready. I'm on a mission." the robot revealed as Ultron ssid.

"What mission?" Steve asked.

"Peace in our time." Ultron replays Tony's voice again.

The iron legion robots fly at the avengers team trying to take them out. Thor takes out one. Agent Hill takes out another as Rhodey is thrown in the glass floor. Steve does his best to stop one of the iron legions while Clint holding a gun shoots at another. Steve uses his shield to stop another iron legion. Daniel ducks as one comes near him. Daniel uses his kinetic energy to destroy it. Natasha jumps behind the bar. Bruce follows. She grabs him and pulls him onto her.

"Sorry!" Bruce said.

"Don't turn green!" Natasha

"I won't!" Bruce said.

"Come!" Ultron speaks.

"Stark!" Steve calls to him. Tony is on top of the robot trying to destroy and finally manages to.

"We are here to help! One sec, one sec! We are here to help! We are here to help... ...quadrant is unsafe. Please back away. We're doing our best to protect you...recordings continues. Hmm!

"Thor!" Dr. Cho who's been hiding this whole time yelled to him for help but got Daniel instead. Daniel uses his force field to stop a would be attack on Dr. Cho and uses his electical force on the robot. Dr. Cho looked on shocked by him.

"Thanks." She said to him.

"No problem." Daniel said then getting back into the fight. There were three more left. The others watched as Daniel took them all out with one single kinetic energy blast.

"That was dramatic!" Ultron said. I'm sorry, I know you mean well. You just didn't think it through. You want to protect the world, but you don't want it to change. How is humanity saved if it's not allowed to...evolve? With these? These puppets? There's only one path to peace. The Avengers' extinction." It finished before Thor destroy the latest of it with his hammer.

"That's it, I'm sending you home." Tony said talking to Daniel. He frowned hard. Natasha caught this.

"I had strings, but now I'm free...There are no strings on me, no strings on me...There are no strings on me." Ultron said escaping through the Internet.

"All our work is gone. Ultron cleared out, used the internet as an escape hatch." Bruce said.

"Ultron." Steve said.

"He's been in everything. Files, surveillance. Probably knows more about us than we know about each other." Natasha said.

"He's in your files, he's in the internet." Steve said.

"What if he decides to access something a little more exciting?" Clint asked.

"Nuclear codes." Rhodey said.

"Nuclear codes." Agent Hill said.

Look, we need to make some calls, assuming we still can." Rhodey said.

"Nukes? He said he wanted us dead." Clint said.

"He didn't say dead. He said extinct." Steve corrected him.

"He also said he killed somebody. There wasn't anyone else in the building." Bruce said.

"Yes there was." Tony said showing them the program of what use to be Jarvis.

"This is insane." Rhodey said.

"Jarvis was the first line of defense. He would've shut Ultron down, it makes sense." Tony said.

"No. Ultron could've assimilated Jarvis. This isn't strategy, this is...rage." Bruce said.

Thor came right up to Tony and began to choke him.

"Whoa whoa whoa." Steve said.

"It's going around." Clint said.

"C'mon, use your words, buddy." Tony said. Daniel stood up ready to take on Thor to protect Tony.

"I have more than enough words to describe you, Stark." Thor said letting him down.

"Thor! The Legionnaire?" Steve asked.

"Trail went cold about 100 miles out but it's headed north, and it has the scepter. Now we have to retrieve it, again." Thor said.

The genie's out of that bottle. Clear and present is Ultron." Tony said.

"I don't understand. You built this program." Agent Hill asked. "Why is it trying to kill us?"

Tony laughes. No one is happy about this.

"Uncle Tony this isn't funny." Daniel said.

"Oh shut up! Just shut up!" Tony snarled at Daniel. Daniel looked on a mixture of anger and hurt written on his face. "You weren't even supposed to be here but yet here you are. Again meddling into something you don't understand." He said.

"Leave him alone Tony." Natasha said defending Daniel. "He's right. This shit isn't funny."

Tony continues to chuckled sarcastically.

"Uhn-uhn." Bruce said.

"You think this is funny?" Steve asked.

"No. It's probably not, right?" Tony asked. "No. It's probably not, right? Is this very terrible? Is it so...is it so...it is, it's so terrible."

"This could've been avoided if you hadn't played with something you don't understand." Steve said.

"No, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It is funny. It's a hoot that you don't get why we need this." Tony said.

"Tony, maybe this might not be the time." Bruce said to him.

"Really?! That's it? You just roll over, show your belly, every time somebody snarls." Tony asked Bruce who simply is trying make sense of what just happened.

"Only when I've created a murder-bot." Bruce said.

"We didn't. We weren't even close. Were we close to an interface?" Tony said.

"Well, you did something right." Natasha said.

"And you did it right here." Clint said.

"The Avengers were supposed to be different than SHIELD. Anybody remember when I carried a nuke through a wormhole?"

"No, it's never come up." Natasha said sarcastically.

"Saved New York?" Tony continued.

"Never heard that." Rhodey said.

"Recall that?" Tony asked again. A hostile alien army came charging through a hole in space. We're standing 300 feet below it. We're the Avengers. We can bust arms dealers all the live long day, but...that up there? That's...that's the end game. How were you guys planning on beating that?" Tony asked.

"Together." Steve said.

"We'll lose." Tony said.

"Then we'll do that together, too." Steve said. Tony stared at him for a moment. "Thor's right. Ultron's calling us out. And I'd like to find him before he's ready for us. The world's a big place. Let's start making it smaller. First things first, Daniel your going home."

"No!" Daniel yelled. They stared at him. "Do you recall last time I helped you guys stop the chitari and Loki. Why can't I help with this?"

"Because it's dangerous Daniel. The last time was different and you disobeyed me when I told you to stay on the Hellicarrier." Tony said.

"You forget I have abilities. I can help." Daniel said.

"Like I told you before it doesn't matter how many abilities you have, you're still just fourteen..." Tony said.

"Fifteen." Daniel said.

"Yeah fifteen whatever! You're a child. Your parents would kill me if you were in danger again." Tony said.

"They don't care!" Daniel yelled. Everyone stared at him. He just revealed his true feelings about his parents. "Besides, you owe me."

"I owe you jack shit. I'm the adult here. We are avengers..." Tony said pointing to Bruce and the others. "Not you. Now im putting you in a car and you're going home."

"You're just like them." Daniel said walking away. Tony sighed deeply.

"He'll get over it." Rhodey said.

The following morning, Daniel had listened as the group discussed the situation. Tony had ordered a car to take Daniel back home. Daniel had other ideas in mind.

"He's all over the globe...robotics labs, weapons facilities, jet propulsion labs... reports of a metal man, or men, coming in and emptying the place." Agent Hill said.

"Fatalities?" Steve said.

"Only when engaged." Agent Hill said. "Mostly guys left in a fugue state going on about old memories, worst fears, and something too fast to see."

"Maximoffs." Steve said.

"Well, that makes sense he'd go to them, they have someone in common." Agent Hill said.

"Not anymore." Steve said.

"Negative. I answer to you. Yes, ma'am." Clint said on the phone with his wife.

"Barton." Steve called to him. "We might have something."

"Gotta go." Clint said.

"Who was that?" Steve asked.

"Girlfriend." Clint said.

"What's this?" Thor asked.

"A message." Steve responds. Thor glances at the iPad and shoves it to Tony's chest.

"Ultron killed Strucker." Tony said.

"And he did a Banksy at the crime scene, just for us." Steve said. Daniel was listening from afar.

"This is a smokescreen. Why send a message when you've just given a speech?" Natasha asked.

"Strucker knew something that Ultron wanted us to miss." Steve said.

"Yeah, I bet he...yep. Everything we had on Strucker has been erased." Bruce said looking through the files and seeing nothing.

"Not everything." Tony said. They followed him to a room that has paper files. Daniel followed behind making sure to keep out of the way. "Known associates..."

"Well, Strucker had a lot of friends." Clint said.

Well, these people are all horrible." Thor said.

"Wait. I know that guy." Tony said. "From back in the day. He operates off the African coast, black market arms." Everyone stared at him. "There are conventions, all right? You meet people. I didn't sell him anything. He was talking about finding something new, a game changer, it was all very "Ahab."

"This." Thor pointed out.

"Uh, it's a tattoo, I don't think he had it..." Tony said.

"No, those are tattoos, this is a brand." Natasha said.

"Oh, yeah. It's a word in an African dialect meaning "thief." In a much less friendly way." Bruce said.

"What dialect?" Steve asked.

"Wakanada...? W-, Wa..." Bruce said trying to pronounce the word.

"Wakanda." Daniel said aloud. They turned to him.

"How do you know that?" Bruce asked.

"Because my brother's biological father is the prince of Wakanda. My mother lived there for a time. Almost became the princess but was pregnant with my brother before becoming princess and that's frowned upon in their nation. It wasn't to be." Daniel finished.

"Azari?" Tony asked. Daniel nods. Tony always knew something was different about Azari. "He's the son of T'Challa?"

"Right again. T'Challa never claimed him so my dad did." Daniel said.

"If this guy got out of Wakanda with some of their trade goods..." Tony said.

"I thought your father said he got the last of it?" Steve asked.

"I don't follow. What comes out of Wakanda?" Thor asked.

"The strongest metal on earth." Tony said.

"Where is this guy now?" Steve asked.

Once they figured out the location of Wakanda, the group got the jet and took off. Daniel watched as jet took off. He remembered where Tony kept his motorcycle helmet. He placed it on his head and took to the skies. Daniel caught up to the jet but maintained a safe distance so he couldn't be detected. He kept himself cloaked to keep from being detected.

"You know, it came at great personal cost. It's worth billions." Klaw said.

"Now, so are you. It's all under your..."dummy holdings?" Finances, so weird." Uktron said. "Well I always say, keep your friends rich and your enemies rich and wait to find out which is which."

"Stark." Klaw said.

"What?" Ultron asked.

"Tony Stark used to say that. To me. You're one of his?" Klaw said.

"What?! I'm not...! I'm not. You think I'm one of Stark's puppets, his hollow men?" Ultron said cutting Klaw's forearm off. "I mean look at me, do I look like Iron Man? Stark is...I'm sorry. I'm s...oooh. I'm sure that's gonna be okay, I'm sorry. It's just, I don't understand. Don't compare me with Stark!" Ultron said.

It's a thing with me. Stark is, he's a sickness!

"Ahh, Junior. You're gonna break your old man's heart." Iron Man said.

"If I have to." Ultron said.

"You don't have to break anything." Cap said.

"Clearly you've never made an omelet." Ultron said.

"He beat me by one second." Iron Man said.

"Ah, this is funny, Mr. Stark. It's what, comfortable? Like old times?" Pietro said. "This was never my life."

"You two can still walk away from this." Cap said.

"Oh we will." Wanda said.

"I know you've suffered." Cap said.

Daniel landed on the roof and slowly crept inside of the building to get a good look at what is going on. He listened.

"Blah! Heh, heh, Captain America. God's righteous man, pretending you could live without a war. I can't physically throw up in my mouth, but..." Ultron said.

"If you believe in peace, then let us keep it." Thor said trying to reason with Ultron.

"I think you're confusing peace with quiet." Ultron said.

"Yuh-huh. What's the Vibranium for?" Iron Man asked.

"I'm glad you asked that, because I wanted to take this time to explain my evil plan...!" Ultron said as he blasts Iron man who ducks and fires back. Captain America and Thor went to battle with Klaw's soldiers.

"Shoot them!" Klaw said

"Which ones?" His solider asked.

"All of them!" Klaw shouts as they began shooting at the avengers. Black Widow and Hawkeye began assisting Thor, Captain America and Iron Man fight Ultron, Wanda and Pietro Maximoff along with Klaws' soldiers.

"Move, move, move!" One soldier.

"Huh!" Another said as he's shot by Black Widow.

"Ah!!" Thor said as he's hit hard by Ultron.

"Oh!" Pietro groaned hit by Cap.

"Stay down, kid!" Cap said to him.

"It's time for some mind games." Wanda said.

Daniel found his moment to get involved. He kept himself cloaked so he wouldn't be seen as he took out several of Klaw's men using his kinetic energy blasts.

"Guys? Is this a Code Green?" Bruce asked getting garbled feedback. "Thor! Status?"

"The girl tried to warp my mind. Take special care, I doubt a human could keep her at bay. Fortunately, I am mighty." Thor said finding himself seeing Val hel.

"This is going very well." Black Widow joked.

"I've done the whole mind control thing. Not a fan." Hawkeye said and is taken down by Pietro who speeds off.

"Yeah, you better run." Hawkeye said trying to get to his feet.

"Who's ever standing, we gotta move!" Captain America said

"Guys?" Black Widow said as Wanda comes up behind her and does her mind warping mojo in her. Widow finds herself walking down some stairs which appear to be from the red room.

"You'll break them." Widow said. It's as if she's trapped in the memory of her past.

"Only the breakable ones." A woman appears speaking to her. "You are made of marble. We'll celebrate after the graduation ceremony. The woman continues.

"What if I fail?" Black Widow asks.

"You never fail." The woman tells her.

"Are you ready for our dance?" A woman asks Cap who to has surcome to Wanda's mind warping mojo. He doesn't know what to make of it.

"Is it him? Is that the first son of Odin?" Heimdall can be heard asking. Thor can see his eyes.

"Heimdall, your eyes!?" Thor asked.

"Oh, they see everything. They see you leading us to Hel. Wake up!" Heimdall said to Thor grabbing him.

"The war's over, Steve. We can go home! Imagine it!" the woman said to Steve who continues to stare at her.

"I can still save you." Thor said.

"We are all dead. Can you not see? You're a destroyer, Odinson. See where your power leads." Heimdall asked to the son of Odin.

"Sloppy. Pretending to fail. The ceremony is necessary, for you to take your place in the world." The woman speaks to Black Widow.

"I have no place in the world." Black Wido spoke

"Exactly." The woman says.

"What can I do?" Pietro asks tending to his sister after Hawkeye used an arrow on her head.

"Ah, it hurts." Wanda spoke grimacing.

"I'm gonna kill him. I'll be right back." Pietro said.

"No." Wanda said."I'm over it. I want...I want to finish the plan. I want the big one."

"Ah! The Vibranium's getting away." Ultron spoke.

"And you're not going anywhere." Iron Man said.

"Of course not. I'm already there. You'll catch on. But first, you might need to catch Dr. Banner." Ultron spoke.

News or footage, keyword: Hulk.

"Natasha, I could really use a lullaby." Iron Man spoke.

"Well, that's not gonna happen. Not for a while. The whole team is down." Hawkeye said getting Natasha to safety.

Daniel helped in getting Captain America and Thor to the jet.

"What are you doing here?" Hawkeye asked shocked to see Daniel.

"Helping. Where's uncle Tony?" Daniel asked.

Meanwhile Tony was doing everything he could to calm Bruce down. He had changed into the Hulk. The hulk had destroyed the city of Kenya doing battle with Iron man. Iron man had used Veronica to stop the hulk. He was finally able to get him to fall asleep. Iron man got the hulk as he was changing back into Bruce before anyone could see. He got back to the jet and noticed Daniel there helping to stabilize Natasha, Steve and Thor who appear to have gotten over their mind warping.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Tony asked placing Bruce down on the floor of the jet.

"Helping." Daniel said as Tony removed his armor staring daggers at Daniel. Daniel knew he was pissed off at him but this wasn't the time to discuss this. Tony walked past Daniel and went to fly the jet.

An hour or so had passed. No one spoke. Thor was standing by the window deep in thought. He wasn't the only one. Natasha was sitting down deep in thought. Bruce himself was still seated on the floor of the jet. He to is deep in thought. Steve was also deep in thought.

"The news is loving you guys. Nobody else is. There's been no official call for Banner's arrest, but it's in the air." Agent Hill told him.

"Stark Relief Foundation?" Tony asked.

"Already on the scene." Agent Hill said "How's the team?"

"Everyone's...we took a hit." Tony said "We'll shake it off."

"Well for now I'd stay in stealth mode. And stay away from here." Agent Hill said.

"So, run and hide?" Tony asked.

"Until we can find Ultron, I don't have a lot else to offer." Agent Hill said.

"Neither do we. Hey, you wanna switch out?" Tony asked Clint.

"No, I'm good." Clint said.

"If you wanna get some kip, now's a good time, 'cause there's still a few hours out." Tony said.

"A few hours from...where?" Tony asked.

"A safe house." Clint said.

"What is this place?" Tony asked.

"A safe house." Clint repeated.

"Let's hope." Tony said. Hours later the jet landed in a field not too far away from a farm house. The group including Daniel get out of the jet and make their way towards the house.

"Honey. I'm home." Clint said as they moved within the house.

"Hi." Laura Barton greeted coming to the front.

"Company. Sorry didn't call ahead." Clint said.

"Hey." Laura said smiling looking every bit nine months pregnant.

"This is an agent of some kind." Tony said.

"Gentleman, this is Laura." Clint said introducing his wife.

"I know all your names." Laura said "Except for him." She said pointing to Daniel.

"Hi I'm Daniel. Nice to meet you." Daniel introducing himself. He extended his hand to shake Laura's. She returned the gesture.

"Nice to meet you Daniel you to. I didn't know shield was letting kids in their program." Laura said.

"Their not. He's the exception." Clint said.

"Oooh, incoming." Tony said.

"Ah!" Came the voice of a little girl. Clint scooped her up into his arms.

"Dad!" Came the voice his son Cooper.

"I see her! Hey buddy!" Clint said. "How you guys doing? Ooh..."

"These are...smaller agents." Tony said "...look at your face!

"Oh my goodness!" Laura said.

"Did you bring Auntie Nat?" Little Lily asked.

"Why don't you hug her and find out?" Natasha said scooping the little girl up in her arms.

"Sorry for barging in on you." Steve said.

"Yeah, we woulda called ahead, but we were busy having no idea that you existed." Tony said.

"Yeah, well Fury helped me set this up when I joined. He kept it off SHIELD's files, I'd like to keep it that way. I figure it's a good place to lay low." Clint said.

"Honey." Laura greeted Natasha.

"Ah, I missed you. How's little Natasha, huh?" Natasha asked.

She is...Nathaniel." Laura said. Natasha frowned.

"Traitor." Natasha said to Laura's pregnant belly.

(chatter)

"Somebody's getting bigger, huh? Somebody's getting excited to have a new baby brother.

\- (chatter continues)

"Thor." Steve called to him.

"I saw something in that dream. I need answers. I won't find them here." Thor told him as they walked outside of the house. Daniel listened.

"We can go home. See you worried for nothing." Steve said.

"No. There's a friend I need to see. I'll be back as soon as I can." Thor said using his hammer to fly away. Steve watched him.

"Can't even feel the difference, can you?" Clint asked his wife who examined the spot in which he was shot. The scar was gone. It was almost as if he wasn't shot at all. Satisfied, Laura rubs it one last time letting no him pull his shirt down.

"If they're sleeping here, some of them are gonna have to double up." Laura said.

"Heh heh heh. Yeah, that's not gonna sell." Clint said.

"What about Nat, and Dr. Banner? How long has that been going on?" Laura asked.

"Has what?" Clint asked clueless.

"Ha ha ha! You are so cute." Laura said chuckling.

"Nat and...and Banner?" Clint asked.

"I'll explain when you're older. 'Hawkeye.'" Laura said.

"Oh. Okay." Clint said.

"It's bad, right? Nat seems really shaken." Laura asked.

"Ultron has these allies, these uh, kids, they're punks really. They carry a big damn stick and Nat took a serious hit. Someone's gonna have to teach 'em some manners." Clint said.

"And that someone be you. You know I totally support your Avenging. I couldn't be prouder. But I see those guys, those...'gods,'" Laura said.

"You don't think they need me?" Clint asked.

"I think they do. Which is a lot scarier. They're a mess." Laura said.

"Yeah." Clint said. "I guess they're my mess."

"You need to be sure that this team is really a team and that they have your back. "Things are changing for us. In a few few days time, you and me are gonna be outnumbered." Laura said.

"I need..." Clint said.

"Just be sure." Laura said.

"Yes, ma'am." Clint said.

The two watched as Daniel stepped outside to help Steve and Tony chop wood.

"What's the deal with the kid?" Laura asked.

"Oh Daniel is Tony's nephew." Clint said.

"Is he handicapped or something?" Laura asked.

"You noticed his speech impediment did you?" He asked as Laura nods. "He's also mentally delayed." Clint said making sure to leave out that Daniel's a mutant. He didn't know how his wife would handle that information.

"What's he doing with you guys?" She asked.

"He came to talk to him but ended up helping us." Clint said.

"You guys are putting him in danger?" Laura asked.

"More like he's putting himself in danger. We've tried to send him home but he doesn't want to go. He's convinced that he can help." Clint said.

"Well from one parent to another, I'm sure his mother and father are worried sick about him. Watch him." Laura said. Clint nods.

Natasha had been sitting on the bed waiting patiently for Bruce to finish in the bathroom. The door finally opens and Bruce finally emerged.

"Oh. I didn't realize you were waiting." Bruce said.

"I would've joined you, but uh, it didn't seem like the right time." Natasha said.

"They used up all the hot water." Bruce said.

"I should've joined you. Missed our window." Natasha responds.

"Did we? The world just saw the Hulk. The real Hulk, for the first time. You know I have to leave." Bruce said.

"But you assume that I have to stay?" Natasha asked.

"I had this, um, dream. The kind that seems normal at the time." Bruce said.

"But when you wake..." Natasha said.

"What did you dream?" Bruce asked her.

"That I was an Avenger. That I was anything more than the assassin they made me." Natasha said to him.

"I think you're being harder on yourself." Bruce said to her.

"Here I was hoping that was your job." Natasha said. She moved closer to Bruce. So close she could feel his breathe on her lips and it was intoxicating.

"What are you doing?" Bruce asked her. He couldn't help how she was making him feel. It was mix between nervous and arousal. He had to admit Natasha is a beautiful woman. He wanted her but was too afraid of his other half ruining it and he was afraid of hurting her. He couldn't live with himself if he did.

"I'm running with it." She said to him. She leans into kiss his lips. Bruce let her wanting to feel her on him. She pulls back from the kiss. "With you. If running's the plan, as far as you want."

"Are you out of your mind?" Bruce asked her. Natasha looked at him surprised. "I want you to understand that I'm...Natasha. Where can I go? Where in the world am I not a threat?"

"You're not a threat to me." Natasha said to him.

"You sure? Even if I didn't just...there's no future with me. I can't ever...I can't have this, kids, do the math, I physically can't." Bruce told her.

"Neither can I. In the Red Room, where I was trained, where I was raised, um, they have a graduation ceremony. They sterilize you. It's efficient. One less thing to worry about. The one thing that might matter more than a mission. Makes everything easier. Even killing. You still think you're the only monster on the team?" She asked him. Bruce felt for her. He didn't know this.

"What, so we disappear?" Bruce asked her.

"That's the plan." Natasha said to him. Bruce leans down and kissed Natasha's lips again. This time he wraps his arms around her waist pulling her into him as they kissed.

"Thor didn't say where he was going for answers?" Tony asked.

"Sometimes my teammates don't tell me things. I was kinda hoping Thor would be the exception." Steve said.

Daniel made his way over to them.

"Need any help?" Daniel asked.

"No not from you." Tony said angrily.

"Uncle Tony I know you're made with me but I was..." Daniel said before he was cut off.

"Trying to help. Yes I know. You sound like a broken record. Did it ever occur to you that no one needs your help?" Tony asked angrily. Steve watched. Daniel felt bad. That was the same thing his father said. "I told you to go home and what did you do? Disobeyed me for a second time. Yeah I'm angry with you."

"You owe this one." Daniel yelled.

"I don't owe you shit?" Tony said.

"You forgot about me!" Daniel yelled sound very hurt. "You're just like my family. Always pushing me away. You have no problem spending time with my siblings and parents but with me you always push me away!" Daniel continued.

"Yeah I forgot you so what? it's easy to forget the retard of the family." Tony said regretting what he said. He was unable to stop them from leaving his mouth. Daniel felt his heart drop. It became painfully clear to him that Tony didn't care about him at all. Steve felt for the young teen. Daniel turned and went back to the house. "Sorry you had to see that."

"You think you were hard on him?" Steve asked. Tony avoided his question.

"Thor didn't say where he was going huh? Yeah. Give him time." Tony said.

"We don't know what the Maximoff kid showed him. Earth's Mightiest Heroes." Pulled us apart like cotton candy." Steve said as they continued talking about the matter at hand.

"Seems like you walked away all right." Tony said.

"Is that a problem?" Steve asked as they continued chopping wood.

"I don't trust a guy without a dark side. Call me old fashioned." Tony said.

"Well let's just say you haven't seen it yet." Steve said.

"You know Ultron is trying to tear us apart, right?" Tony said.

"Well I guess you'd know. Whether you tell us is a bit of a question." Steve said.

"Banner and I were doing research." Tony said.

"That would affect the team." Steve said.

"That would end the team. Isn't that the mission? Isn't that the "why we fight," so we can end the fight, so we get to go home?" Tony asked. Steve angrily ripped apart of block of wood.

"Every time someone tries to win a war before it starts, innocent people die. Every time." Steve said as Tony watched him.

"I'm sorry. Mr. Stark, uh, Clint said you wouldn't mind, but, our tractor doesn't seem to want to start at all." Laura said. "I thought maybe you might..."

"Yeah, I'll give it a kick." Tony said breaking the tension between he and Steve. "Don't take from my pile." He said then walking off.

Daniel in the living room looking out the window. He was doing his best not to cry but failing miserably. Natasha came downstairs fully dressed having made out with Bruce. She sees Daniel looking out the window. She could see tears falling down Daniel's cheek. She decided to go talk to him.

"Daniel." Natasha called to him. He turned to her not bothering to hide his tears. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing." Daniel said turning away from her.

"If nothing's wrong then why are you crying?" Natasha asked. Daniel looked down but didn't answer. "Is it Tony? What did he say to you?"

"He hates me." Daniel said crying.

"Oh sweetie I'm sure he doesn't hate you. I think he's angry because you didn't go home like he told you to." Natasha said to him.

"I can handle myself. You've seen it." Daniel said to her. She knew he was right. She had witnessed first hand Daniel's abilities and knew he could get the job done. He hadn't complained like they did. He just used his abilities to help save the world.

"Yes I have but Daniel, you're a teenager and this hero stuff is dangerous. You're parents are probably worried sick about you." Natasha told him.

"They don't care. Neither does Tony." Daniel said getting up from the table and leaving her sitting there. She truly felt bad for the young teen. All he really wanted was to be accepted. She wasn't sure what was going on at home but knew he was suffering. She wished there was something she could do to help him. For someone with two disabilities, Daniel truly is a remarkable young teen.

"I need your help." Fury said.

"It's nice to be needed." Tony said.

"It's dangerous." Fury said.

"I'd be disappointed if it wasn't." Tony said.

"Ultron took you folks out of play to buy himself time. My contacts all say he's building something." Fury said.

"The amount of Vibranium he made off with, I don't think it's just one thing." Clint said.

"What about Ultron himself?" Steve asked.

"Ah. He's easy to track, he's everywhere. Guy's multiplying faster than a Catholic rabbit." Bruce said.

"Still doesn't help us get an angle on any of his plans though." Steve said. Daniel listened. This time he didn't intervene.

"He still going after launch codes?" Clint asked.

"Yes, he is, but he's not making any headway. I cracked the Pentagon's firewall in high school on a dare." Tony said.

"Yeah, well, I contacted our friends at the NEXUS about that." Fury said.

"NEXUS?" Steve questioned.

"It's the world internet hub in Oslo, every byte of data flows through there, fastest access on earth." Natasha said.

"So what'd they say?" Tony asked.

"He's fixated on the missiles. But the codes are constantly being changed." Fury said.

"By whom?" Clint asked.

"Parties unknown." Fury said.

"We have an ally?" Bruce asked.

"Ultron's got an enemy. That's not the same thing." Steve said.

"Still, I'd pay folding money to know who it is." Clint said.

"I might need to visit Oslo. Find our "unknown."" Fury said.

"Well, this is good times, boss, but I was kind of hoping when I saw you, you'd have more than that." Natasha said.

"I do. I have you." Fury said. "Back in the day, I had eyes everywhere, ears everywhere else. You kids had all the tech you could dream of. Here we all are, back on earth, with nothing but our wit, and our will to save the world. Ultron says the Avengers are the only thing between him and his mission. And whether or not [he admits it] his mission is global destruction. All this, laid in a grave. So stand. Outwit the platinum bastard." Fury said.

"Steve doesn't like that kind of talk." Natasha jokes as the others chuckled.

"You know what, Romanoff?" Steve said as Natasha smirked.

"So what does he want?" Fury asked.

"To become better. Better than us." Bruce said. "He keeps building bodies. "Person bodies. The human form is inefficient, biologically speaking, we're outmoded."

"But he keeps coming back to it." Natasha said. "When you two programmed him to protect the human race, you amazingly failed."

"They don't need to be protected. They need to evolve." Tony said.

"Ultron's going to evolve." Bruce said

"How?" Clint asked.

"Has anyone been in contact with Helen Cho?" Tony asked.

The group figured out what Ultron was up to and figured Dr. Cho was somehow involved.

"I'll take Natasha and Clint. All right. Strictly recon." Steve said.

"I'll hit the NEXUS, I'll join you as soon as I can. If Ultron is really building a body..." Fury said.

"He'll be more powerful than any of us. Maybe all of us." Bruce said.

"An android designed by a robot." Natasha said shaking her head.

"You know I really miss the days when the weirdest thing science ever created was me." Steve said.

"I'll drop Banner off at the tower. Daniel is coming with us. Do you mind if I borrow Ms. Hill?" Tony asked.

"She's all yours. Apparently." Fury said.

"What are you gonna do?" Laura asked.

"I don't know. Something dramatic, I hope. I'm gonna finish re-flooring that sunroom as soon as I get back." Clint said.

"Yeah, then you'll find another part of the house to tear apart." Laura said.

"No. It's the last project. I Promise." Clint said.

"This is it." Laura said.

"Let's go Daniel." Tony shouts to him. Daniel reluctantly moves towards the door.

"Thank for the hospitality Mrs. Barton." Daniel said.

"You're welcome Daniel." Laura said smiling at the young man. She could tell he was depressed. She chalked it up to him missing his parents.

Tony, Bruce, and Daniel were able to get back to Avengers Tower. Tony had gotten a little help to locate Ultron.

Clint, Captain America and Black Widow had figured out that Ultron, Pietro and Wanda were at Dr. Cho's lab. Captain America saved her after Wanda and Pietro got out of there. There was a chase scene and a runaway train. Pietro and Wanda had switched sides helping Captain America save passengers on the train. Black Widow took the package met for Ultron sending it to Hawkeye literally and she ended up getting captured. He got the package back to Tony and Bruce go back to work.

"Anything on Nat?" Hawkeye said coming back to the tower.

"Haven't heard. But she's alive, or Ultron'd be rubbing our faces in it." Tony said.

"Where's my girl?" Bruce asked. Tony and Clint looked over at him. The worried expression is on his face.

"Don't worry we'll find her." Tony said.

"This is sealed tight." Tony said.

"We're going to need to access the program, break it down from within." Bruce said. "Any chance Natasha might leave you a message, outside the internet, old school spy stuff?"

"There's some nets I can cast. Yeah, all right. I'll find her." Clint said.

"I can work on tissue degeneration, if you can fry whatever operational system Cho implanted." Bruce said.

"Yeah, about that." Tony said.

"No." Bruce said.

"You have to trust me." Tony said.

"Kinda don't." Bruce said.

"Our ally? The guy protecting the military's nuclear codes?

"I found him."

"Hello, Dr. Banner." Jarvis's can be heard speaking.

"Ultron didn't go after Jarvis 'cause he was angry. He attacked him because he was scared of what he can do."

Daniel watched them. Captain America returned with both Pietro and Wanda in tow. Bruce came close to hurting Wanda and Pietro was going to hurt him when Clint got the jump on him. Captain America tried to stop Tony but Thor showed up and used his hammer to charge the body inside the containment box. Danny watched alarmed. The gem inside bonded to the body awakening it. Thor battled the awakened body but soon stopped learning that the body has Jarvis' program in it.

When the chaos calmed, everyone went to try locating Natasha. Bruce was monitoring Jarvis' programming in the body met for Ultron. He was thinking about Natasha. He had to find her. They talked about leaving together. He wondered if she would actually leave with him.

Tony found himself staring at Daniel who was sitting on the couch deep in thought. He wondered what his nephew wanted to talk about although he had an idea. He spent so much time with his own situation but didn't think about Daniel. Part of him felt bad for what he said and how he's treated him. But the other was still mad because he was supposed to go home and didn't.

Wanda went over to Daniel and sat down next to him. She was intrigued by the young teen. She hadn't seen him before but wanted to know more about him.

"Hi." Wanda said.

"Hi." Daniel said. She noticed his speech impediment.

"Haven't seen you before. Are you with the avengers?" Wanda asked.

"No but I was trying to help." Daniel said.

"How could you help?" Wanda asked.

"I have abilities." Daniel told her without revealing he's a mutant.

"But you're just a kid." Wanda said.

"Yeah. I'm just a kid." Daniel said sarcastically.

"Why are you here?" Wanda asked.

"Uncle Tony and I was supposed to talk until Ultron got involved." Daniel said sounding bitter.

"Where are you from?" Wanda asked.

"New York. Upstate to be exact. My family and I live there." Daniel said.

"Do you have siblings?" She asked.

"Seven of them. I have two older brothers John and Azari, I have twin brother David, a sister name Kendall, younger brothers Lucas, James and Oliver." Daniel said.

"Wow that's a large family." Wanda said.

"Yeah." Daniel said.

"So you came here to talk to Tony. Why did you want to go away from your family?" Wanda asked. Daniel thought about her question and wondered whether or not to tell her.

"I just needed space. I wanted to talk with my uncle but he ignores me to." Daniel said.

"Your parents ignore you?" She asked. He nods.

"They're not the only ones. My siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles. Ignoring me is a family affair." Daniel said.

"You should be lucky you still have your parents around." Wanda said to him. "My brother and I lost our parents when we were kids."

"I'm sorry about that but you don't know my parents. At least yours loved you and your brother." Daniel revealed. Wanda felt for him. He was right. Her parents loved her and Pietro very much. She didn't know Daniel's situation.

Wanda watched him. She didn't know the teen but could tell he genuinely wants to help. She didn't know much about him but could tell he was bothered by the fact that he and Tony couldn't talk. She could see that Daniel really had no one he could talk to. He was lonely.

Steve, Tony, Bruce, Thor, Vision, Pietro, Clint and Wanda had come up with a plan to save the people of Sorcovia. Daniel listened. Clint had located Natasha.

"Daniel, I'm sending you home." Tony said.

"No. I want to help finish this. I want to help save the people of Sorcovia. I'm not going home until this is over." Daniel said walking away from him. Everyone geared up for the battle. Daniel grabbed the helmet he used the last time he helped the avengers take on Loki. Headed towards the ship.

The guys boarded the quinjet to Sorcovia. Bruce was dropped off to rescue Natasha. She and the Hulk made it just in time to help. Pietro and Wanda helped to get their people pro safety. Ultron and his many robots attacked the team. Iron man in his suit took out several of Ultron's bots.

Part of Sorcovia lifted into the air. The team could see the device glowing inside of the lifted ground.

Captain America took a bunch on his own along with Black Widow, The Hulk, Vision, Thor, Hawkeye and The Maximoff off twins. Daniel hung in the air and using his abilities took a bunch out in one shot. The gang got help from Fury, Agent Hill, War Machine and Falcon.

Shield agents helped to get the remaining people on to their safe ship.

The group gathered around the device Ultron planned to use to destroy Sorcovia. An army of Ultron bots came storming at them. They fought hard taking them all out. Daniel with his helmet on used his abilities to take out a bunch on his own. More Ultron bots approached. Daniel used a shield to cover them all around the device. The bots couldn't break his shield.

"What's going on?" Falcon asked.

"It's some kind of shield." Black Widow said.

"It's Danny. He's covering us." Iron man said.

"Impressive." War Machine said.

"There a lot of bots outside the shield. Hawkeye said.

"We can take them out." Captain America said.

"I'll light them up." Thor said.

"No!!!! I got this?" Daniel said. "The others watched as Daniel moved past his shield keeping the avengers team in it along with the device. He gathers a large bubble of kinetic energy combined with electrical currents. He yells as he sends the blast hitting all of the Ultron bots. Every last one of them blew up. They watched amazed at the young teen. The shield is released and they stare at Daniel who is breathing heavy. He shoves off his helmet trying to catch his breathe. They could see the tears in his eyes.

"You ok?" Iron Man asked him.

"I'm fine!" Daniel said walking away from him.

"We have to destroy the bomb." Wanda said.

"I know how we can but it needs to be protected. Daniel can you put a shield around it?" Iron man asked. Daniel nods. "Ok." Iron man takes off.

"I'll protect you." Thor said.

"I can handle myself." Daniel said.

"Daniel, we have your back." Black Widow said.

"Just go. I can handle this." Daniel said angrily. They watched him. Widow could tell he was emotional. Daniel moved back towards the device to protect it.

"We should get to the ship." Captain America said.

"Go, I'll cover him." Natasha said.

"You heard what he said." Hawkeye said.

"I know what he said. I'm still covering him." Widow said.

"Hulk help Tasha." The Hulk said. She looked over at him and smiled. Captain America nods. He and the others made their way to the ship.

"What are you two doing?" Daniel asked.

"Covering your ass now shut up so I can listen out for Tony." Widow said.

Ultron took hold of the quinjet and fired shots at Daniel, Hulk and Black Widow. Hulk shielded her from the blasts. Falcon and War Machine see this and go after Ultron to distract him. Tony was able to fix the device so that it blows up.

"Widow get my nephew out of there!" Tony yelled.

"Copy that." Widow said the turns to Daniel and Hulk. "We gotta get out of here." Hulk nods. Daniel quickly levitates all three of them and they flew away as the lift ground of Sorcovia blows up. Daniel shields the Hulk and Natasha and sends them towards the rescue ship. Both land safely on the rescue ship. The blast knocks Daniel out sending him free falling towards the ground. Iron man races to catch the falling teenager. He catches him in his arms.

"I have you nephew." Tony said as Daniel is out cold.

"Light the bastard up." Fury ordered as Agent Hill sends a shot at the quinjet blowing the jet up with Ultron in it. He's torn to shreds.

With Sorcovia saved, the avengers team which now includes War Machine, Pietro, Wanda, Falcon and Vision all headed back to the avengers headquarters. Clint headed home to his family. Daniel was with them. He had woken up while recovering. Natasha was with him. She tried talking to him but he wasn't talking. She ended up leaving the room to give him some space.

She and Bruce are standing on the balcony holding each other. Their foreheads are touching. Both are making out. They pull apart.

"I'm glad you're going with me." Bruce said.

"Me to. I need a vacation." Natasha said smiling. "Thanks for not leaving without me."

"I'm not going anyway without you. Besides, I wanna go with it." Bruce said as they chuckled.

"Well, the Vision's artificial intelligence." Tony says.

"A machine." Thor says.

"So it doesn't count." Steve says

"No. It's not, like, a person lifting the hammer." Tony tells them.

"Right. Different rules for us." Steve said. "Nice guy. But artificial."

"Thank you." Tony said as they laughed.

"If he can wield the hammer, he can keep the Mind Stone. It's safe with the Vision. And these days, safe is in short supply." Thor said.

"But if you put the hammer in an elevator..." Steve said.

"It would still go up?" Tony asked.

"Elevator's not worthy. I'm going to miss these little talks of ours." Thor said.

"Not if you don't leave." Tony said.

"I have no choice." Thor said. "The Mind Stone is the fourth of the Infinity Stones to show up in the last few years. That's not a coincidence."

"Someone has been playing an intricate game and has made pawns of us." Tony said.

"Once all these pieces are in position..." Steve said.

"Triple Yahtzee?" Tony said.

"You think you can find out what's coming?" Steve asked.

"I do. Besides this one, there's nothing that can't be explained." Thor said. "Tony, do me a favor and talk to Daniel. I get the sense that he needs you." He said as they turned towards the tree across the street from the headquarters. Daniel is sitting on the grass with his head buried in his hands. His bag wasn't too far from him. Tony nods as he swings his Hammer around before flying away.

"That man has no regard for lawn maintenance." Tony said about Thor. Steve smirked. "I'm gonna miss him though. And you're gonna miss me. There's gonna be a lot of manful tears."

"I will miss you, Tony." Steve said smirking.

"Yeah? Well, it's time for me to tap out. Maybe I should take a page out of Barton's book and build Pepper a farm. Hope nobody blows it up." Tony said to him.

"The simple life." Steve said.

"You'll get there one day." Tony said.

"I don't know. Family, stability. The guy who wanted all that went in the ice 75 years ago. I think someone else came out." Steve said.

"Hey you got room in that fancy car for two more people?" Natasha asked coming out of the headquarters with Bruce holding two bags met for them both.

"Yep." Tony said.

"Good. Hey thanks for letting me take a vaca. Need one." Natasha said to Steve.

"You needed it." Steve said smiling hugging her. "Bruce, take care of this fiesty woman."

"Will do." Bruce said as they shook hands.

"Is he gonna be ok?" Steve asked about Daniel. All four looked in Daniel's direction. He had stood up from the grass.

"He'll be fine." Tony said. "Tasha wanna meet his family?"

"Sure." Natasha said.

After I drop him off. I'll take you guys to the airport." Tony said. They nodded. "Daniel." He turned to him. His face has tears streaming down his cheeks. "Taking you home." He said as Daniel wiped away the tears and made his way over to Tony's car. He got into the back with his car. Natasha sits next to him in the back while Bruce sat in the passengers seat. He started the car and drove off.

"Are you ok?" Natasha asked him.

"Fine." Daniel said keeping his eyes focused on the scenery. He hadn't forgotten the way Natasha treated him the first time they met. He found it odd that she was being nice to him. He was going back to the family who ignores him. She had no true idea how he was feeling. She had no idea how incredibly lonely Daniel's life was and now he was going back to them. She felt for him. Natasha knows her treatment of him the first time they met wasn't right but tried to keep her guard up. Seeing Daniel again and in the state of mind he is in only made her feel for the kid.

Daniel knew when he got home he was going to hear it from his father. He looked at his phone and noticed that there was only one message and it was from Ororo. Logan hadn't called him. He figured Ororo told him that he was with Tony. Daniel figured Logan didn't give a shit where he was as long as he wasn't in his face. Logan was bound to punish him and Daniel didn't care. Nothing was worse than loneliness


	11. Chapter 11

Daniel (An X-Men Story)

Chapter Eleven: Aftermath

Tony's car pulled into the driveway of Xavier mansion. Bruce smiled at Natasha's facial expression having been here himself. Natasha's mouth hung open surprised at how big the place is.

"He lives here?" She asked.

"Not that mansion." Tony said driving his car though the drive way. He made a turn in the drive way which led to the drive way of the Howlett home. "He lives here." He said pulling up the garage. It was open. Standing there with his arms folded was Logan.

"Who's that?" Natasha asked.

"Daniel's father. Logan Howlett." Tony said.

"The wolverine." Natasha whispered.

"He looks pissed." Bruce said. Daniel said nothing. He was quiet the entire drive there. They all got out the car.

"Logan, how's it going?" Tony asked extending his hand. Logan shook it.

"Tony." Logan said. "Dr. Banner." He said shaking his hand.

"Good to see you to." Bruce said shaking his hand.

"Who's the young woman?" Logan asked.

"This is Natasha Romanoff. My girlfriend." Bruce said. Tony smirked.

"Nice to meet you Ms. Romanoff." Logan said extending his hand. Natasha returned the gesture.

"Pleasure." Natasha said.

"Daniel. Get yer ass in the house." Logan said as Daniel made his way into the house. Tony, Bruce, Natasha and Logan followed. Inside the house are Professor Xavier, Jean, Emma, Megan, Scott, Alex, Rion, and Ororo. "Look who decided to come home."

"Daniel." Ororo said. He didn't say anything.

"Welcome home Daniel." Professor Xavier said. Daniel nods. "Tony, Dr. Banner, good to see you guys again."

"Good to see you to Professor. I want you to meet my girlfriend, Natasha Romanoff." Bruce said introducing her to the old man. "Natasha, this is Professor Charles Xavier."

"Nice to meet you Ms. Romanoff." Professor Xavier said. "Meet Dr. Jean Grey-Summers, her husband Scott Summers, his brother Alex Summers, Alex's wife Emma Frost-Summers, Megan Goodwin-Munroe, her husband Orion Munroe. This is Ororo Munroe-Howlett, Daniel's mother."

"It's nice to meet you all." Natasha said.

"Same here. I take it my son was with you guys?" Ororo asked.

"Yes he was." Tony said.

"So you ran off again huh?" Scott asked. Daniel doesn't respond.

"Why did you leave the mansion again Daniel?" Ororo asked. He looks down at the floor.

"Answer her boy!!" Logan yelled. Natasha looked on worried for Daniel. Ororo sighed and Daniel didn't answer. Logan was getting increasingly angry.

"Daniel I know things haven't been good around here but that doesn't give you the right to run off without telling us where you were going!" Ororo said.

"And I wasn't happy with the way you left things either." Logan added.

"And showed up at my doorstep and involved yourself in something that you had no right to." Tony said. Natasha and Bruce looked over at Tony wondering why he would turn on him.

"I was trying to help." Daniel said. "And the hell you two care anyway. Weren't you glad to be rid of me?" He asked. Ororo and Logan looked in surprised at his attitude.

"Daniel why would you ask that?" Jean asked surprised that he'd ask a question like that.

"Because it's true." Daniel said.

"Daniel, your help wasn't needed." Scott said. "I'm sure Tony and his team could handle that situation without you."

"When are you going to get it through your head that your help wasn't needed?" Logan asked angrily. Daniel looked on with a changed expression. Natasha noticed the look. Daniel was mad. He was frowning hard. Daniel had never had never been angry before. Disappointed definitely but never angry.

"Hey everyone." John said greeting everyone. He came into the living room with Azari, David, Kendall, Lucas, James and Oliver.

"Uncle Tony!" Kendall squealed running over to hug him.

"Hey beautiful." Tony said giving her a hug. "How you doing?" He asked smiling.

"Great." Kendall said.

"Come here little monsters." Tony said hugging Lucas, James and Oliver. He high fives John, David and Azari.

"Who's the hottie?" David asked staring at Natasha who smiles politely.

"Oh a guys, this is Natasha Romanoff. You remember Dr. Bruce Banner." Tony said introducing them. "Tasha, meet David, Lucas, James Oliver, Kendall, Azari and John. They are Daniel's siblings." Natasha nods. She can see the difference between David and Daniel.

"Hi guys and lady." Natasha said addressing the kids. "It's nice to meet you all."

"Same here beautiful." Azari said flirting. Natasha smirked.

"Knock it off Azari." Logan said. He was clearly annoyed.

"This is a serious matter." Professor Xavier said.

"What's going on?" David asked.

"Your twin showed up at my place again and stuck his nose where it didn't belong." Tony said. Daniel looked over at him with a hurt expression on his face. If he didn't know better, he could swear that he heard anger in Tony's voice. Natasha and Bruce heard it to.

"Again!" David exclaimed frowning.

"When are you going to mind your business?" John asked.

"Yeah Daniel. You should stay out of uncle Tony's business." Lucas said. James and Oliver nodded. Daniel didn't even look in their direction.

"He can't help himself. He just wants to help." Azari said in a mocking tone. Bruce and Natasha frowned a bit. Natasha now understood why Daniel wanted to leave home. She sees the way he's being treated and feels bad for him.

"Yeah well I'm sick of it." Tony said angrily. "I told you once before that I did not want your helping despite your abilities and you didn't listen. The first time you did that I let it slide. This time I won't. You could've been killed and then what? Huh?" He asked Daniel who didn't respond. "How do you think your family would feel if they lost you?" Tony asked him. 'They'd feel fucking happy.' Is what Daniel wanted to say but didn't respond. "No response huh? What's the matter cat got your tongue?" He asked.

"He's afraid he'll stutter." Azari said. Everyone watched as Tony laid into Daniel. Daniel was hurt cause no one not one person came to his rescue. Natasha and Bruce wanted to say something but knew it wasn't they're place to.

"You managed to make uncle Tony mad." Kendall said angrily.

"You could've exposed us putting the family at risk. Did you ever think of that genius?" John asked sarcastically.

"Daniel, we talked about this before. Anniminity is our first defense." Professor Xavier said.

"We all know the avengers won't expose you guys but Daniel you could've been seriously harmed." Bruce said.

"Yeah your safety is important." Natasha said attempting to come to his rescue.

"The world already hates our kind as it is. Doing what you did really put us in jeopardy of being exposed." Jean said as Daniel barely heard what she said.

"You have got to be more careful Daniel. You don't see your brothers and sister running off to god knows what." Rion said.

Daniel felt ganged up on. He could hear the voices in the room and see the faces but all he felt was heartache, pain and disappointment. It became painfully clear that he was alone.

"We ain't stupid enough to do that." David said. All eyes were on Daniel.

"I'm disappointed in you Daniel." Megan said.

"We all are. No doubt about that." Alex said.

"Daniel we hope you realize that your actions could've had dyer consequences for all of us?" Professor Xavier asked but Daniel didn't reapond. Instead looked on his face having mixed emotions.

"The consequences will cost you. You're grounded until we see fit to let you off punishment." Logan said. "And trust me it will be a long time before that happens."

"You lost our trust Daniel. Until you earn that back, you will be confined to your room. The only time you are to leave is when you go to school." Ororo said.

"Let's take it one step further. As of now, you are not allowed back at Avengers towers until further notice." Tony said shocking everyone there including Daniel. He has a somber look on his face. That hurt. Being pushed away by the one person who he thought he could talk to hurt Daniel more than anything. He truly did feel alone.

"Go to your room." Logan said angrily. Without uttering another word, Daniel went to his room and shut the door locking it.

Tony, Natasha and Bruce left shortly after. Professor Xavier spoke to Logan and the others about the situation. Before leaving, Tony had assured them that he, Bruce and Natasha would keep the X-Men off avengers radar. Their secret was safe. They felt like they dodged the same bullet twice.

Ororo made dinner. Jean, Emma and Megan helped while Logan, Scott, Alex and Orion talked in the living room. At the dinner table are Ororo and Logan at the head of the table, John, Kitty, Azari, David, Kendall, Lucas, James, Oliver, Rion and Megan at the other end of the table, Matt, Owen, Jean, Scott, Nathan, Tyler, Alex, Emma and Lex. Daniel was absent from dinner. He didn't want the dirty looks and he didn't want them talking about him as if he wasn't there.

Daniel stayed in his room all night. He had been crying and didn't have much of an appetite. He spent the night thinking about what everyone said to him, especially Tony Stark. He was use to hearing criticism from his family but not his uncle. What hurt most was Tony banning him from avengers tower. That hurt. Everyone had pushed him away. If that's what they want then so be it. Daniel vowed that he'd keep away from his family and Tony. He'd give the silent treatment like they've never seen before. That much he was sure of.


	12. Chapter 12

Daniel (An X-Men Story)

Chapter Tweleve: Isolation

Several weeks have passed by. Daniel was still on punishment and hadn't left his room except to go to school and back. He made good on his promise to leave everyone alone. He hadn't asked anyone to help them. He hadn't attended karate classes nor did he attend any of David's baseball games. He spent his time alone away from David and his friends while at school. David took notice to this. Part of him felt bad for his twin but the other part of him didn't for the simple fact that he made some poor choices that could've been disastrous. He hadn't even come down for dinner. Ororo noticed his absence and worried for him. She tried checking up on him but he said nothing.

Daniel sat at the desk in his room on a Saturday afternoon attempting to study but finding it hard to do so. He couldn't help but think about what took place four weeks ago.

How had he gotten to this point in his young life? He closed his text book and sat down on his bed. The year started off good for Daniel. How did things go wrong so fast? He thought back to before school started. The conversation he had with his parents about changing schools. He remembered how Logan was against it. He remembered David being against it. Being left out of breakfast, being ignored during the trip to the mall, the constant teasing by his brothers and no one really caring enough to come to his rescue, not being able to kiss his mother goodbye the first day of school, his father giving him a shit answer when he wanted to know how to talk to girls, making no friends, his staying away from David and his friends, being pushed away by his siblings and cousins. Even his aunts and uncles seem to push him away. He decided to seek out his uncle Tony to talk and have some guy time like he does with his brothers and Kendall spends time with Pepper. Daniel was the only one who hadn't really spent much time with Tony and figured this would be perfect but that proved to be a mistake cause Tony spent more time working than with him. Grant it the world was in danger. Still, Daniel couldn't have known that at the time. Daniel ended up helping the avengers save the day. Tony brought him home right after and didn't even talk to him.

The second time had been different. Tony and the avengers had come back from a mission. Daniel knew Tony was home. Despite Tony telling him he was sending him home, Daniel suspected that was more about getting rid of him than keeping Daniel safe. During the time he was helping the avengers, Tony was angry with him the entire time and let him know about it when they got back to the mansion. To make matters worse, Tony banded him from avengers tower until further notice. Daniel was hurt.

He got up from the bed. He looked out the window and found his family having fun. Lucas was spinning Kendall who was giggling. James and Oliver were racing each other on their bikes. Bobby and Rogue were playing cards with John and Kitty. Logan was tossing a baseball to David while catching him. Ororo playfully tossing the football to Azari. Daniel watched as Azari playfully and carefully tackles Ororo who giggles.

Rion, Scott and Alex showed up and it became a full on football scrimmage. Kids verse the adults. Remy, Kurt and Warren joined the adults side. Professor watched smiling. He acted as the referee. Everyone was having a great time. He frowned angrily and went back to studying.

It's Monday morning. Ororo made breakfast. Everyone is sitting down to eat. They noticed that Daniel was not there as usual.

"Kendall, go get him." Logan said.

"Ok." Kendall said then racing up to the second level. She stopped at his room. "Daniel its breakfast time come downstairs." She said. No answer. She sighed and opens his door. The room is empty. She went back downstairs. "His room is empty. He's not there."

"You don't think he went to uncle Tony's do you?" Lucas asked.

"No Tony made it clear that Daniel was not allowed at avengers tower." Ororo said. "He must've left for school earlier."

"What is up with him?"

"Not sure." Logan said. "He's been quiet lately." He said.

Daniel had left early for school. He rode his bike to school. He sat at the bench across from the school building waiting until it opened up. He looked and saw his father's van pull up to the parking lot of the school. Daniel got up and hid behind a tree. He could see his siblings getting out of the car. He waited until Logan's car pulled off. He headed for the building going inside.

Daniel made his way to his locker. David and his friends were a few lockers down from his. David sees him and decides to go talk to him.

"Danny, got a minute?" David asked. Daniel rolled his eyes turning to face him. "Where did you disappear to this morning?"

"Didn't know you cared." Daniel said sarcastically his speech impediment more prominent now.

"Mom and dad were worried." David said.

"Yeah right." Daniel said sucking his teeth.

"What does that mean?" David asked frowning.

"It doesn't matter." Daniel said as the bell rang. "Should get to class. Don't wanna be seen together. Your rule remember?" He asked before shutting his locker then walking off. David said nothing. He just watched him.

David spent most of the morning watching Daniel in class. He was alone. The class had to do an assignment in groups. Daniel was alone. David felt bad but did nothing to stifle his guilt. It was the same during lunch. David watched as Daniel ate alone. Candice watched David's face and could tell he felt bad but neither did anything about it.

In History class, the class each had to read a paragraph out loud in front of the class. Everyone had read a paragraph all except Daniel. Daniel was staring out the window.

"Daniel, it's your turn to read." Ms. Katz said. Daniel hadn't heard her. "Daniel." She called to him. He turns to her. "It's your turn to read."

"I don't want to." He said to her.

"Daniel come on everyone has read a paragraph but you." Ms. Katz said.

"I said I don't want to." Daniel said raising his voice stuttering a bit.

"Daniel, it's part of the class assignment and you have to do it." Ms. Katz said firmly making sure not to raise her voice.

"I DDDON'T GIVE A SSSHIT! I SAID I DON'T WWWANT TO!" Daniel yelled.

"Daniel!" Ms. Katz called to him.

"FFUCK OFF!!!" Daniel yelled again. Everyone in the classroom chuckled at his outburst.

"That is it young man go to the principle's office now!" Ms. Katz ordered. Daniel got up from his desk with his books and stormed out of the classroom.

Logan is in the kitchen at the Howlett home drinking a beer. He had the day off and was going to spend it relaxing. Ororo walks into the house with exams.

"Hey darlin." Logan said to her.

"Hey honey." Ororo responds giving him a kiss on the lips.

"What's that?" He asked. Ororo put the stack of exams on the table.

"Exams I have to correct. I let the kids go earlier so I could correct them." Ororo said to him. He wraps his arms around her waist pulling her into him. Ororo giggles as Logan kisses her deeply. His hands move down to her ass. Ororo moans into his mouth. Her left hand finds Logan's groin and gently massages it. Logan moans. He feels himself getting aroused. He backs her up against the fridge as they tongue kissed. Ororo lifts one of her legs around his waist as Logan's hands find her breasts. Both are horney and are about to get naked. Suddenly the phone rings. Both stop kissing. Logan growls angrily. "I suppose we should answer that." Ororo said catching her breathe. Both pull apart.

"Hello." Logan answered angrily. He hated to be interrupted when he and Ororo are in the middle of relations.

"Mr. Howlett this is Ms. Carpenter." The principal said.

"Hi Ms. Carpenter what can I do for you?" He asked.

"I'm calling to let you know that one of your sons is in trouble." Ms. Carpenter said.

"In trouble? Which one?" Logan asked frowning. He had a nagging dealing it was Daniel.

"Daniel is in trouble. He cursed at his history teacher. He's sitting in my office. We need to talk. Can you come to the school?" Ms. Carpenter asked.

"Uh yeah I'll be there in a half hour." Logan said.

"Ok see you then." Ms. Carpenter said.

"Ok." Logan said hanging up the phone. "Fuck!"

"What is it?" Ororo asked.

"Apparently, our mentally delayed son cursed at his history teacher and is in trouble. That was Ms. Carpenter who has Daniel in her office." Logan said.

"Shit! What has gotten into him?" Ororo asked.

"I don't know but I wanna ring his fucking neck." Logan said angrily. "I'll go bring him home." He said kissing her lips again. "Be back."

"Ok." Ororo said watching him leave the house with his jacket.

Daniel sat outside of the principal's office frowning hard staring straight ahead. His mind was someplace else. He hadn't seen David come into the office.

"Daniel, what happened?" David asked him sitting in the chair next to him. Daniel doesn't answer him. "I heard you cursed out Ms. Katz, is that true?"

"Why the hell do you care?" Daniel asked frowning at him.

"Mom and Dad will kill you." David said to him.

"Good. It'll be a fitting way to go." Daniel said turning away from him. David just stared at him wondering what was wrong with him.

"What's with you?" David asked.

"Come on man lets not play that 'you care about me' game cause we both know you don't so just go away." Daniel said. David just watched him wondering what was up with his brother.

Logan came walking into the administrative office. He sees Daniel and David sitting in front of the pincipal's office.

"Hey dad." David said noticing him.

"Hey. Get back to class. Your mother will pick you up in a couple of hours." Logan said as David went back to class. Logan glared at Daniel who just looked up at him frowning but looked away.

"Mr. Howlett, you can come in. Daniel you to." Ms. Carpenter said. Both Logan and Daniel walked into her office both sat across from Ms. Carpenter as she sat at her desk. "Thank you for coming Mr. Howlett. Daniel you know why you're here don't you?"

"Yeah." Daniel said. Logan was visibly upset but kept his cool.

"Since you've been a student here Daniel, we've had no problems with you but lately, you've been distant and you don't participate in class discussions. You do the assignments and the homework just fine but class participation is apart of the grade and you have to do so in order to get an A. What do you have to say about your behavior?" She asked. Daniel didn't answer.

"Hey!" Logan yelled. Daniel looked over at him. "You hear her talking to you don't you?!" He asked frowning. Daniel nods. "Then speak up!"

"I don't have anything to say." Daniel said shrugging his shoulders.

"Why did you curse at your teacher?" Ms. Carpenter asked.

"Cause she tried to make me read the stupid ppparagraphs and I didn't want to." Daniel said.

"So that gives you the right to curse at your teacher?" Logan asked. Daniel shook his head.

"Well because you did that Daniel, I'm gonna have to suspend you the rest of the week." Ms. Carpenter said.

"Ok. Believe me he's in trouble when we get home." Logan said as Daniel sucked his teeth. "Go get your books from your locker and come back here." He ordered. Daniel quickly got up and headed to his locker. He took his books out and left the school. Logan had a conversation with Ms. Carpenter before he left the school building. Daniel put his bike in the back of Logan's car. Logan drove off. It was silent in the car. Logan turns to him while maintaining his focus on the road. "Wanna tell me why you cussed out yer teacher?"

"I already told you." Daniel said his voice barely audible but he knew his father could hear him.

"Oh right because you didn't want to read in front of the class. You think that gave you a right to cuss at her?" Logan asked angrily.

"No." Daniel said.

"You know sometimes you have to do things you don't want to. That's part of being responsible. You used to be a responsible kid. Lately you've been acting like a little punk and I don't like it one bit." Logan said.

"Surprised yyyou noticed." Daniel said again whispering. Of course Logan heard it.

"What?! What was that?!" He asked.

"Nothing." Daniel said turning to look out the window. Logan rolled his eyes focusing on the road.

When they arrived home, Daniel put his bike in the garage and rand up to his room. Logan went to the fridge to get a beer. Rion came into the house.

"Hey." Rion said as Logan grunted. "What's going on?"

"Your nephew got suspended from school." Logan said. Rion had a shocked expression on his face.

"Who got suspended?" Ororo asked coming into the house with Kendall, David, Lucas, James and Oliver.

"Hi daddy." Kendall said going over to kiss Logan on the cheek. Logan smiles at her. "Hi uncle Rye."

"Hey kiddo." Rion responds.

"Hey dad. Uncle Rye." James and Oliver said in unison head up the stairs.

"Hey dad. Hey uncle Rye. Who's suspended?" Lucas asked.

"Your brother." Logan responds.

"Ms. Carpenter suspended Danny?" David asked.

"Yep." Logan said.

"What did he do?" Rion asked.

"Cursed at his teacher." Logan said.

"Jeez." Rion said. "What has gotten into him lately?"

"That's just it. We don't know." Logan said.

"I tried talking to him but it doesn't work." Ororo said.

"He's never been suspended from school has he?" Rion asked.

"Nope." Ororo responds.

"I guess there's a first time for everything." Logan said.

"Hey everyone." Azari said coming home with John.

"What's going on?" John asked.

"Danny got suspended for cursing at Ms. Katz." David said with a smirk. Part of him was amused at the situation.

"What?" John asked surprised.

"Did he stutter trying to get the curse out? Did it sound something like 'Ffffffuuuucckkk oooofffff'." Azari said as John and David laughed.

"Zari watch your mouth." Logan said raising his voice. Ororo looked at him frowning. "I really don't like it when you guys tease him."

"Sorry dad." Azari said.

"We're just playing dad." John said.

"Never the less, I don't like it so stop it understand?" Logan said.

"Ok." They said in unison. They headed upstairs.

At dinner, everyone chatted amongst themselves. Ororo had cooked for everyone. Scott, Jean, Alex, Emma, Orion, Megan and the kids are there well. The only one not talking was Daniel.

"So Daniel, I heard you got suspended from school?" Scott asked.

"Yep." Daniel said without looking at him.

"What happened?" Emma asked. Daniel didn't answer.

"He cursed at Ms. Katz." David said.

"What? Why'd you do that?" Megan asked.

"My genius son over here didn't want to do the assignment so he told her to fuck off." Logan said.

"He's spending a lot more time in his room." Ororo said. Daniel rolled his eyes.

"He's been acting like a little punk." Logan said.

"Surprised you noticed me at all." Daniel said.

"What? What was that?!" Logan yelled.

"Logan." Ororo called to him.

"No I wanna hear what he has to say." Logan said. "What did you say?!" He asked raising his voice. By now all eyes where on Logan and Daniel.

"Yyyyou hhhheard me!" Daniel yelled back. David and Azari laughed at Daniel.

"You better watch your tone boy!" Logan yelled.

"Or wwwhat? You gonna gground me? News flash dad, you aalready dddid ttthatt!" Daniel yelled.

"Daniel!" Ororo yelled.

"Piss off!!!" Daniel yelled shocking everyone including Ororo.

Logan had enough of his attitude and without warning slapped Daniel across his face knocking him off the seat. Everyone gasped.

"Logan!" Ororo called to him. The kids were all shocked. Logan regretted what he did. Daniel had blood trickling from his lip. Logan looked on feeling bad. The look on Daniel's face was more shocking. He was smirking. Everyone looked on.

"Dddid that mmake you feel good dad? How long have you bbeen wwaiting to do that?" Daniel asked rubbing his lip.

"Danny I'm sorry." Logan said.

"Danny let me take a look at it?" Jean asked. Daniel was turned his head.

"Daniel are you ok?" Ororo asked but Daniel shrugged her off of him and went up to his room. Ororo sighed.

"Logan that was uncalled for." Emma said.

"Yeah man he didnt deserve that." Alex said.

"I know I didn't mean to hit him." Logan said feeling bad.

"He had it coming." Azari said.

"He told mom to piss off. He was being disrespectful so dad slapped him. He deserved that." David adds.

"Yeah but he didn't deserve to be hit." Megan said.

"He's been acting out lately." Rion said.

"He's clearly going through something and is having a hard time dealing with it." Scott said.

"That maybe true but he should just say what's bothering him instead of acting like a punk." Logan said.

"You have no right to hit him." Ororo said angrily feeling bad for Daniel. She went up to his room to check on him. "Daniel honey open the door. Daniel hadn't responded. She opened the door. Daniel was sitting the floor behind his bed crying. She went over to him. "Daniel baby, I'm sorry your father hit you." He didn't say anything.

"I'm fine mom just leave me alone." Daniel said. Ororo sat next to him staring at him.

"Daniel, I know something is wrong with you and you want tell me. If you don't tell me I can't help you." Ororo said to him. She was really trying to be a good mother to him.

"Please just leave me alone." Daniel said crying. Ororo got up from the floor.

"When you're ready to talk, you know where to find me." Ororo said before leaving his room.

"How's he doing?" Megan asked.

"He's upset." Ororo said as they sat back down to dinner without Daniel. Logan had gone outside. "Where's Logan?"

"He needed some air." Scott said.

"I'm worried about Daniel." Ororo said.

"Has he told you what's bothering him?" Jean asked.

"No. Whatever it is he won't talk about it." Ororo said.

Kendall continued eating her food. She had an idea how Daniel was feeling. John and the other kids continued eating. They knew something was wrong with Daniel but until he said something, they couldn't help him. His attitude wasn't helping either.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen: MMA Team Warm Ups

A few weeks had passed since Logan and Daniel's encounter. Neither spoke to the other. Logan felt bad about hitting him but felt he deserved the consequences for his behavior. Daniel's attitude hadn't changed much. He was still keeping his distance and resorted back to skipping dinner with his family. Ororo had done all she could to talk to him but he still hadn't said anything.

Since the family had no luck talking to Daniel, they resorted to having others talk to him. Jean tried talking to him and had no luck. Emma got in on trying to get Daniel to open up but he didn't speak. Both use their telepathy to read his thoughts but got nothing. Daniel made it his business to hide his thoughts. Scott and Alex would try reaching out to him but got nothing. Rion reached out to his nephew. He even offered to train Daniel to test for his black belt but Daniel refused saying he was quitting his martial arts training. Rion was stunned and asked why. Daniel shook his head and walked away.

Professor Xavier was the last hope. He asked to speak with Daniel alone. He tried to get Daniel to talk and almost did but he shut down again. Professor also tried to read Daniel's thoughts but like Jean and Emma was kept out. Daniel had developed a method to keep all the telepaths on the grounds out of his head.

School was no different. Daniel continued his distance from everyone. He didn't even participate in class work. He would do the assignments and homework on his own but did not participate in the class discussions. His teachers talked to Ororo and Logan. Logan and Ororo explained that he's like that at home. The three agreed that counseling might help. They had Daniel see a therapist but that hadn't worked because Daniel hadn't said anything the whole hour. The therapist tried to figure out what was going on with him but Daniel said nothing.

Tony had called a few times talking to Ororo and Logan. They explained that he hadn't said a word and continues to keep his distance from everyone. Tony felt bad and promised to come by and talk to him.

Today was Saturday. The family had gone to David's baseball game. Daniel stayed behind but waited until they all left. When he was certain they had gone out, he grabbed his bike and rode off the mansion grounds. He was riding his bike around the town and stopped when he spots a Tiger Shulman's dojo. He stepped inside and watched the guys train. Daniel watched wanting desparately to continue his training but was too hurt at his uncle for ignoring him. Daniel turns to leave but stops when he finds a flyer.

"MMA Tournament." Daniel read to himself. He quickly stuffs the flyer into his pocket before riding back to the mansion.

Daniel made sure to eat his dinner at six pm. He ate a turkey sandwich with a soda. He knew his family would be home at six-thirty. He made sure to be done by then. He finished the sandwich at six twenty before placing his plate and cup in the sink. He headed back upstairs. Like clock work his family arrived back at the mansion. David's team had won another game. The team would be heading to the playoffs. Like Azari's football team, David's team was in first place and had already clinched a play off birth. Next weekend they'd play for the city championship before the playoffs begin.

"Can't wait to see you in the playoffs bro." Lucas said excitedly.

"Yeah he's gonna kick major butt." James said.

"Yeah." Lucas exclaimed high fiving David.

"First up city championship." Azari said. John nods smiling.

"Yep." David said. They noticed how quiet their parents are. "Mom, dad, you ok?"

"Yeah you two are quiet." John said.

"Just thinking about Daniel." Ororo said.

"He's kept his distance from us." Kendall said worried.

"So. We don't have to hear him stutter." Azari said.

"Don't say that Azari." Kendall said defending him.

"What its the truth. He's had an attitude with us and doesn wanna speak. Screw him." Azari angered.

"He's obviously going through something and until we know what it is, we can't help him." Logan said. He looked down at the floor.

That evening, Daniel waited for Logan to go back into the house after his cigar. He glanced at his clock which read nine thirty on the dot. Daniel heard Logan go back into the house. Daniel waited ten minutes before grabbing his light jacket and sneaking out of the house. Daniel made sure to hide his scent so his father couldn't pick up on it. He ran around the house and took his bike riding it off the mansion grounds.

Daniel followed the instructions to the tee arriving at his destination. The place is located in an a school gymnasium. He got off his bike and made his way inside. He showed the guard his flyer and then heads into the school. There are people everywhere.

Most are cheering on as two fighters in the middle of an octagon-like ring are fighting. The two fighters were kids. They couldn't have been no more than seventeen.

Daniel watched as the two boys slugged each other. Neither had any real training. He could take them. The thrill of fighting in the cage stirred something inside of him. He smiled excitedly. He was enjoyed seeing these guys pound each other. He wanted in. He didn't know what to do to get in on the action. Daniel looks around and sees a man watching the fight. The man looked important. He makes his way over to him.

"Excuse me." Daniel said loudly trying to get the guy's attention. The guy doesn't answer. "Hey!!" Daniel yelled. The man looked over at him annoyed. "Hi."

"What do you want?" The man asked roughly.

"I want to fight. I'm Daniel." Daniel said to him. The man took one look at him and shook his head.

"Get lost kid. This ain't for you." The man said.

"Come on. I can fight. I want to fight." Daniel said.

"Get lost kid." The man yelled. Daniel looked on hurt but angered. He watched as the man cheered for his fighter and congratulates him on a victory. Daniel watched as five other guys surrounded the fighter.

Daniel continues to watch three more fights before leaving. He was mad because this man was yet another person who pushed him away. He wasn't nearly as mad because he hardly knew the man but knew he could get him into the octagon. He was determined to talk to him.

Daniel waited for the man to leave and followed him making sure to stay hidden. He however lost the man when he turned on another road.

"Damn it." Daniel cursed. He turned heading home trying to get back before 1am. He was determined to find the man and get him to sponsor him.

The next afternoon, Daniel left the house. He wanted to follow the man he saw last night before. He overheard the man saying he wanted to meet at the local cafe so that's where Daniel would be.

When he arrived at the cafe, he saw the man sitting by himself. He sat at the counter and ordered a turkey and cheese sandwich with an orange juice. Daniel sat waiting as he ate his breakfast. Four young teens Daniel recognized walked into the cafe and sat with the man at the booth. The group ate breakfast while chatting about the underground fights. Daniel wanted in. He listened and waited.

Once he finished his lunch, he watched as the men left the cafe. Daniel waited a minutes until they were gone. He paid for his breakfast and then left the cafe. He got on his bike making sure to stay behind at a decent pace watching the man's car to see where they end up.

The man's car stops at s gym near by. Daniel watched as the guys got out and walked into the gym. Daniel put his bike down and went to the door to watch. What he saw made him more excited than he's ever been. He saw several guys training in jujitsu, boxing, kickboxing and wrestling. He was in heaven. He definitely wanted in. There were kids there his age training. He went inside. The man was there talking to some of the youngsters who were training in the ring. Daniel determined to win this guy over walked towards him.

"I want to fight." Daniel said his speech impediment showing through. The man turns to him along with the other kids in the gym.

"You again." The man said. Daniel watched him. "I thought I told you to get lost?"

"I want to fight. I can fight." Daniel said. The man laughed at him along with all the other fighters in the gym. Daniel seemed unfazed.

"You don't give up do you kid?" The man asked.

"No I don't." Daniel said. The man looked at him as the other fighters laughed and taunted Daniel. Daniel again seemed unfazed by their taunting. He got it at home and this was no different.

"Never seen you here before." The man said. Daniel looked over at him. He's a little shorter than Daniel, stocky with a black goatee, black slick hair, green eyes and is wearing a leather jacket with a black and white plad shirt with black jeans and boots.

"My first time here. I didn't know about this til the tournament til now." Daniel said. The man noticed his speech impediment.

"What did you say your name was again?" The man asked.

"I'm Daniel." Daniel said.

"Daniel huh? I'm Tom." Tom said shaking Daniel's hand.

"So why are these guys fighting?" Daniel asked.

"Well, they are sparring, they are practicing for the upcoming MMA team tournament competition taking place in two days." Tom asked.

"What is the MMA Team Tournament?" Daniel asked.

"MMA team tournament is compromised of youngsters who compete on a team to win a large sum of money." Tom said. Danny listened. "These guys are practicing to compete in order to be picked by one of the twelve teams."

"Wow. I would love to compete on one of these teams. How can I do that?" Daniel asked.

"Do you train?" Tom asked.

"Yes of course." Daniel said. He wanted to say his uncle is a retired champion but chose not to reveal that.

"You like what you see?" Tom asked him.

"Yeah. To be honest, the guys have training but aren't that good. They are just wailing around." Daniel said. Tom looked at him and laughed.

"How would you know about fighting?" Donovan Jones asked. Donovan is a young white teen with brown hair that's cut short crew cut style and is in great shape for his age. Daniel looked at him and didn't say anything.

"I can fight." Daniel said.

"Care to prove it?" Tom asked him holding an invitation to the tournament t tryouts. Daniel looked over at him and at the invitation then smirked. He nods.

"Tom hey." A young fighter about seteen came over to the two. He was wearing black shorts, no shirt and looked to be in great shape.

"Donovan, how's it going?" Tom asked.

"Good. Who's the retard?" Donovan asked without actually knowing Daniel was mentally delayed.

"I'm Daniel." Daniel introduced himself.

"Who cares?" Donovan said. Daniel frowned.

"Hey Donny here needs an opponent. Care to be his opponent Daniel?" Joey Niles asked. Joey is a seventeen year old black teen with caramel eyes, brown short hair and a muscular physique for a teen his age.

"Him?" Donovan asked. Tom nods smiling. "I'll crush him."

"Daniel here can fight. Right Daniel?" Tom asked.

"Yes I can." Daniel said.

"Ok fine. Get your ass in the octagon." Donovan said. Daniel looked at him unsure of what to do.

"I don't have sparring equipment." Daniel said.

"No. We'll see what he hhas in two days at the tryouts." Tom said.

"Fine. See you then retard." Donovan said.

"See you in two days Danny." Tom said as Danny nods. He turns and leaves the gym with his invitation in hand.

That night, Danny sat on his bed smiling. He was invited to tryout to be on a team. An MMA team at that and he wanted to tell his family especially his uncle but remembered that he wasn't speaking to him or any member of his family. He wanted to tell his father who might finally be proud of him but he wasn't speaking with him either. He'd keep this to himself.


	14. Chapter 14

Daniel (An X-Men Story)

Chapter Fourteen: Tryouts

Daniel along with thousands of youngsters entered the collisium hoping to win a spot on one of the sixteen MMA teams. All were carrying their gear with them as they make their way towards the seats.

They see judges, referees, three octogons cages and sixteen men with suits on. Daniel figured them to be the coaches for all sixteen teams. With them we're several assistant coaches and trainers. He recognized one of them to be Tom Barrett who he had met the day before.

All of the youngsters took their seats on the bleachers to await further instructions. A gentlemen dressed in a suit came up to the makeshift podium so he can be heard.

"Gentleman, welcome to the first ever MMA Team Tournament tryouts." The gentleman said. All of the teens including Daniel clapped. "Today, you guys will compete against each other displaying your skills as fighters. It will be up to these sixteen head coaches here to choose who they will have on their teams. Once the teams are chosen, the coaches will explain the rules to you and you'll be given a fight schedule. Now, there will be two regions with eight teams on them. The teams will compete against each other until there is one team from each region to face off against each other in what is called the MMA Tournament Championship match." He said as the guys all clapped again. "There will be rewards. For each round your team advances will net your team big money and the reward is bigger with each round. The regional champs get trophies along with money. The team that wins it all will receive trophies, belts, watches, rings along with money." The guys all clapped. "Ok, there are two locker rooms. Get changed and be ready to compete." He said as the teens all got up and headed for the locker rooms.

Daniel excitedly got changed into his gear. He'd have to wait his turn. He'd be the fourth fight. He drew the fourth card along with another teen named Evan Carlson. The young teen eye balled Daniel who paid him no mind continuing to throw imaginary punches.

Tom and Sam along with his trainers watched the fighters.

"Isn't that the retard that came in the gym yesterday?" Sam asked.

"Yep. Let's see what he can do" Tom said smirking.

When it was his turn to compete, Daniel entered the octagon along with Evan. Evan is wearing black trunks while Daniel is wearing blue trunks. Both threw imaginary punches in the air getting themselves ready for the fight.

The fight commences with Evan immediately going for a take down. Daniel snuffed his take down and countered with a left hook to Evan's face stunning him. Evan backs up against the cage where Daniel begins to unleash a baray pf punches to Evan's face. Evan tried to block Daniel's punches even ducking a few times but the punches landed. Evan tries another attempt at a taken down but Daniel snuffs the take down again and knees Evan in the stomach. Evan pushes Daniel back and attempts a kick. Daniel catchs his leg and sweeps him off his feet. Daniel immediately mounts Evan and continues to rain down punches to Evan's face but Evan throws his hands up to block him. Daniel easily switches positions into an arm bar and submits Evan. The coach's looked on. The referee holds Daniel's hand as he is victorious.

"Holyshit!" Sam said smirking.

"Well what do you know? The kid can fight after all." Tom said.

Tony's car pulls up the drive way of the Howlett home. He could smell food cooking. Logan must be bar-b-quing. He smirked and made his way to the backyard. There he spots Logan at the grill. With him are Scott, Alex and Rion. He could see they are talking and laughing. He could see Ororo setting up the table with Megan, Emma and Jean. David, Azari and John are tossing the football while Lucas, James and Oliver were chasing Kendall. Professor Xavier is talking with Lex, Nate and Tyler. The music is playing.

"Hey..." Tony shouts getting everyone's attention. "Is this party private or can any hero join in?" He continued.

"Uncle Tony!!!" Lucas, James and Oliver all shouted as they ran to him and hugged him.

"What brings you by Tony?" Logan asked.

"Oh, the team has some down time and I figured what better way to spend it then with my favorite people." Tony smiling as he hugged by the kids.

"Well there's plenty of food." Ororo said.

"And drinks." Scott said.

"Now we're talking." Tony said getting a chair and sitting next to Megan.

"How's things with the Avengers?" Alex asked.

"Good. Widow and Banner are off playing hide the canoodle, Thor is back home dealing with some family issues while Steve is searching for his friend Bucky. Falcon is with him. Vision, Wanda and Pietro are vacationing in Hawaii. Hawkeye is a home with his family. Meanwhile I've been keeping tabs on a new hero in New York City. But all and all, things are quiet." Tony said.

"Quiet is good. No major threats to worry about." Jean said.

"None and that is good. I also needed a break from my projects I'm working on." Tony said.

"Well we're glad you're here." Professor Xavier said.

"Food is ready." Logan said as the ladies got up fix plates for everyone.

"Is it me or are we missing someone?" Tony asked.

"You noticed his absence have you?" Ororo asked referring to Daniel.

"Yeah where is the young man in question?" Tony asked.

"Well our mildly handicapped son left out a few hours ago." Ororo said.

"He doesn't say much these days." Logan said. Tony thought about that realizing Daniel must be more hurt than he realized.

With all the tryouts done, the coaches for the teams were ready to make their decisions. Daniel sat waiting to see if he'd be chosen to a team. The fighters began to find their teams as the coaches have chosen fifteen teams were complete. It was time for the Lions' heach coach to announce his team. Tom Barrett is the head coach. There are nine fighters left. One of them will be the odd fighter out. Daniel felt confident that Tom would pick him.

"Ok here's my list. Donovan Jones, Chris Edwards, Joey Niles, Steven Nichols, Billy Dillon, Michael Kyle, Walter Maddox and Casey Norris." Tom said. Daniel was shocked. He wasn't picked. He thought st the very least he would've impressed Tom but figured that wasn't the case. Daniel watched as the guys gathered around Tom. Daniel figured Tom didn't want the local retard on his team. Devastated, he gets up with his bag and heads for the exit to the collisium.

"Tom, one of the fighters has an injury." Sam the assistant head coach said to Tom.

"Who?" Tom asked.

"Casey Norris." Sam said.

"Shit!! Who was the other kid?" Tom asked.

"Daniel Howlett." Sam said.

"Shit! The retard. Go get him." Tom said as Sam took off for the exit to the collisium. Daniel was walking towards the bus stop with his duffle bag his head hung low from the disappointment of not being picked.

"Daniel!" Sam shout to him. "Daniel!!!" Daniel stopped and turned to him. "You're Daniel Howlett?"

"Yeah." Daniel said not sure why he was asking for him.

"You need to come back inside." Sam said.

"Why? I wasn't chosen." Daniel said sounding bitter.

"That's just it, Casey Norris is injured. You can take his place." Sam said. "You are healthy right?"

"Yes of course." Daniel said.

"Good come back into the collisium. You need to get your training equipment." Sam said grabbing Daniel and gently pulling him back into the building.

"Daniel?" Tom asked.

"Yes sir." Daniel said. "We met yesterday."

"Yeah. I remember. That was some fight you had." Tom said.

"Thank you sir but I wasn't chosen." Daniel said.

"No you weren't. Casey is better fighter but he's injured so you're in." Tom said. "Have a seat." Daniel does. "Ok gentleman welcome to the Lions MMA team. I'm the head coach Tom Barrett. This is Sam Louis, he is the assistant coach. To my left are the trainers Javier Rios, Lane Castle and Davis Donaldson. Javier will work with you guys on your jujitsu, Lane will work with you guys on your wrestling and Davis will focus on your kickboxing. Get to know them and get to know each other. I only have three rules. One: Don't be late to training. That shows disrespect to me and the team. I won't tolerate lateness. Two: No one is allowed to miss a practice. There's only two exceptions to that rule. There's a death in the family or you yourself become injured. I don't care if you have a cold. You will sweat it out." The third rule and most important rule: you all will treat each other with respect and support one another. You are a team. We will either win as a team or lose as a team but we will do it together. You guys will work together to make each other better, stronger, faster and in doing so we should win. Are we clear on the rules?" Tom asked.

"YES SIR!" The fighters said in unison.

"That's what I like to hear. Now Sam here is going to give you all folders with the schedule and packets in them. You will get team jackets as well as a duffle bag filled with all the team gear you'll need. The first training session is tomorrow afternoon at four pm. See you then." Tom said as he begins to walk away.

Javier, Lane and Davis provided the fighters with their team jackets, duffle bags filled with fighting equipment and they were given the folders with their schedules and other information the fighters will need. Daniel excitedly left the collisium with his team jacket and duffle bags. He got on the bus smiling happy that he had been picked. He hated the fact that he had been picked due to a fighter being injured but all that mattered to him was that he was in. He was going to be competing in his first MMA match.

When Daniel arrived back home, he noticed a fancy car in the drive way of the house. He recognized it as his uncle Tony's car. He had come by to visit. He hadn't seen him since the time Tony brought him home after helping to defeat Ultron. He frowned and decided to go around back. He stops short seeing his family out back with Tony. Logan had finished grilling and had Kendall on his lap. Azari and John were tossing the football around. David and Lucas were tossing the baseball. James and Oliver were riding their bikes around while Ororo was chatting with Tony. Nate and Lex were playing with Scott and Alex while Tyler was giving Jean kisses. Everyone stops when they see Daniel who by now is frowning.

"Well look who's home." Tony said.

"Hey Danny where you been?" Ororo asked.

"Out." Daniel said plainly. Ororo looked away somberly.

"What's that you got there?" Rion asked.

"Nothing." Daniel said not wanting to let them in on what he's been up to.

"That looks like workout equipment." Alex said. "You training on your own?"

"Something like that." Daniel said beginning for his room.

"You wanna join us?" Logan asked. "There's still food left."

"No thanks." Daniel said heading towards the staircase to his room.

"How's it going Daniel?" Tony asked.

"Mr. Stark." Daniel said then heading up the stairs to his room. Tony stared after him. Everyone was shocked at that. Ororo and Logan sighed deeply. "Did he just call me..." Tony asked.

"Yep." Ororo answered.

"Has it gotten that bad?" Tony asked.

"Yes. He only speaks when spoken to, he doesn't eat with the family nor does he participate in school assignments. It's bad. He's kept his distance since you brought him home." Ororo said.

"Wow." Tony said. "Maybe he's still mad with me or he thinks I'm still mad with him. I should talk to him."

"That won't work uncle Tony." Oliver said.

"Yeah he's been like that with all of us." Kendall said. Tony looked up at Daniel's room one last time before everyone went back to what they were doing.

Daniel locked his door making sure he wasn't disturbed. That's how it's been for him. He didn't want to talk to Tony or see him. He was pissed off at him for banning Daniel from his place. Daniel was hurt and felt his uncle didn't want to be around him. Much like his family, Tony hadn't spoken to Daniel in months so Daniel kept his distance from them.

Daniel sat at his desk thinking about the tournament. He felt great and couldn't wait to begin his training. He was certainly looking forward to getting in the cage and displaying what his talents.

Daniel began going through the duffle bag. The duffle bag is black and gold with a Lion symbol on the both sides of the bag. Inside of the bag are two sets of gloves, two mouth guards, two sets of trunks, tshirts, sweat shirts, sweat pants, gloves, two sets of hand wraps, head gear, knee pads, two caps and two knit caps. In the folder we're papers with the team schedule, and one has the rules and regulations on it, the other has the gym's location along with pictures of how the gym looks. Daniel noticed that the gym isn't that far from where he lives and he could ride his bike to the gym. He was excited. He sat and laid back on his bed and fell asleep dreaming of someday winning a championship.


	15. Chapter 15

Daniel (An X-Men Story)

Chapter Fifteen: Rough Training

Daniel awoke ready to get his training started. He got up from the bed and headed to the bathroom. The clock on his nightstand read 9:30am. Daniel had slept in something he normally did on a Saturday. He wouldn't have to be at the Lion's Den facility until noon. He headed to the bathroom to take a shower before dressing.

Daniel spent his fifteen minute shower going over in his head about the Lion's team and what the facility would look like. He figured he'd see it for his self when he got there. He was way too excited to think about much else.

Once out of the shower, Daniel dressed in his nicest track suit before putting his training equipment in the bag before heading downstairs. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw his siblings sitting watching cartoons in the living room. Ororo was putting the dishes in the sink after everyone had already eaten breakfast without Daniel. Something he was getting use to. Logan was smoking a cigar in the backyard. Daniel went to the cabinet and grabbed a pop tart from the box. He puts the pop tart into the toaster and waited for it to warm up. Ororo sees him and decides against her better judgment to speak to him.

"Morning." She greets him.

"Morning." Daniel responds with his back to her.

"You look like you're heading to the gym or something." Ororo said.

"First day of training." Daniel responds. Ororo takes in his appearance then notices the bag.

"What's the Lion's Den?" She asked.

"A new gym I'm trying." Daniel lied smoothly. Something else he was getting use to doing. The pop tarts pop up from the toaster signaling that it was done. He had went into the fridge to pull out a small bottle of sunny orange juice. Daniel sat at the table to enjoy his pop tart and juice. He could feel Ororo burning a hole through his head. "What is it mom?" He asked a little annoyed.

"Was just wondering how long you were going to stay angry with me." Ororo said.

"It's not just you he's angry at." Logan can be heard as he made his way back into the house after having enjoyed his cigar. Ororo said nothing knowing what was to come. "Ain't that right son?" He asked. Daniel doesn't respond. "See. Still mad." Logan said sarcastically as if to make light of Daniel's silence. It's as if he doesn't understand why Daniel was angry in the first place. Daniel finished his pop tart and scarfed down his orange juice before getting his duffle bag. "You know this, whole act of yours is getting old and fast. We get why your mad so just get over it already." Logan said callously. Daniel looked at him angrily.

"You still dont get it." Daniel said sucking his teeth. "Typical." He said before heading towards the door.

"I don't get it then say what it is that's bothering you and let's move on already!" Logan said shouting.

"I shouldn't have to explain it!" Daniel shouted back. "You should know and the fact that you don't only tells me that you don't give a crap so just leave me alone!" Daniel walking out the house and slamming the door. Logan frowned hard before heading to his study. Ororo shook her head. John and the others shook their heads to.

Daniel rode his bike to the facility known as the Lion's Den. He stops upon seeing the big Lion head atop of the big sign above the facility entrance. He's amazed at the sight before him. He hadn't seen a facility this big. Rion's dojo isn't this big. With a smirk on his face, Daniel chains his bike up to the bike rack. A black SUV pulls up in front of the facility music blaring. Three guys get out of the car. One of them is Donovan. The other two are two are Michael Kyle and Chris Edwards.

Michael Kyle is a seventeen year old half Asian half black teen with bald head, brown eyes slightly slanted, a tan complexion with a lean body for his short stature. Michael is an excellent kickboxer and wrestler. Michael's good on his feet and can wrestle anyone but falls pray to being submitted.

Chris Edwards is a white eighteen year old with long blond hair, green eyes, tall with a decent physique. He's a submission artist. He's got good ground pound skills and can submit any opponent from anywhere in the cage. His weakness is that his boxing is weak and needs work.

"Well, well, well, the retard shows up." Donovan said nastily. Daniel barely heard him.

"Don't worry, he won't last long." Michael said as the three laughed walking into the facility. Daniel followed.

Once inside of the facility, Donovan, Chris and Michael all looked on amazed at how big the place is. Daniel was amazed as well.

"Would you look at this place?" Came the voice of Joey Niles. With him are Steven Nichols, Billy Dillon and Walter Maddox. Joey is a black seventeen year old with caramel skin, brown hair crew cut style and a strong muscular physique. Joey is about six feet tall. He's an excellent striker with a Muay Thai background. Joey's only weakness is that he cannot wrestle. Muay Thai fighters are excellent with their legs and hands but get them in the ground and their done.

"Yeah. This place looks awesome." Came the excited voice of Walter Maddox. Walter is a 16 year old pasty white teen with red curly hair, blue eyes and a wrestler's build. He's short and is a terrific wrestler but has no submissions, no striking skills and no cage skills. The only thing he can do is wrestle. In fact that's how he won his entrance fight.

"I'll say." Came the voice of Billy Dillon a Hispanic teen with short black hair, brown eyes, and is a tall pudgy guy with a bit of a beer belly. Luckily he's an excellent striker. His stand up game is good but if his opponent takes his legs from him and gets him on the ground, Billy becomes exposed. That's his weakness.

"Holyshit!!" Came the voice of Steven Nichols. Steven is a short white teen with black hair, blue eyes, and wears wire rimmed glasses. Steven is a bit on the heavy side but is a decent wrestler. His strength is taking his opponents to the ground and using the ground and pound to win his fights. That's how he won his match to earn a spot on the team. His weakness is the fact that he doesn't last long on his feet. He gets winded.

All eight youngersters went around exploring the big facility. To the right of the entrance is the office for Tom and a room for the trainers to get dressed. To the left are the storage closet. To the far left are the mats, weights, punching bags, mirrors, ropes, training balls, treadmills, bikes, lipticles and more. To the far right is the octagon. This is where the fighters will hone their skills in the cage and be ready to face their opponents. In front of the octagon are the bleachers where fighters can rest while training. In the back are the lockers, the sona and the kitchen area.

Tom, Sam and the coaching staff came out of the office to greet the fighters.

"So what do you guys think?" Tom asked as the fighters all smiled nodding their heads in approval. Scattered murmurs of agreement can be heard by the fighters.

"This place is amazing." Donovan said.

" Yeah real cool." Michael said.

"Glad you like it. Now take a seat on the bleachers there." Tom said pointing to the bleachers. The fighters all head to the bleachers and took a seat next to each other. Daniel was the only one who sat a few feet away from the rest of the fighters. "Alright. First off, I wanna welcome you to the Lion's team. You are the first team to compete in the tournament known as the MMA Team Championship. Hopefully you won't be the only team I coach but you certainly are the first. Over the course of this journey, we will get to know you guys just as you guys will get to know us while we are training you. You guys will also get to know each other and build friendships. There are but a couple of rules here that I have. Number one; you must always be on time. Lateness will not be tolerated. It shows disrespect to the team, the coaching staff and me. Number two: there is absolutely no fighting each other. We must show solidarity. I don't care if you don't like someone. If you have a problem with a teammate, address it with me." Tom said as Donovan raised his hand. "Donovan?"

"I have a problem with a teammate." Donovan said. He said as the team looked at him. "Yeah how come the local retard is on this team?" He asked as the others snickered. Daniel said nothing and though he didn't like being called the local retard, he hadn't let on that it bothered him.

"He was the only one left." Tom said making it clear Daniel wasn't his first choice. In fact, Daniel wasn't his choice at all. Daniel said nothing and his face was expressionless. "Now the last rule is this, seeing as though you guys are still in school, you will get schedules. You are to follow the schedule. Now today seeing as its our first meeting together, we are going to give you guys the tour around the facility to familiarize yourselves with its walls, you'll then get changed into your gear. We will be determining where you are in your training." So grab your stuff and let's get going." Tom said as the guys anxiously grabbed their bags and was escorted around on the tour. Once the tour was over, the guys all headed to the locker room to change.

"So the local retard is on our team huh?" Billy asked.

"Yep. No doubt we'll be the laughing stock of this tournament." Steven said changing.

"No one will take us seriously with him on the team." Chris said.

"They better with me." Donovan said confidently. "We ain't gone let some retard slow this team down." He said. "You hear that retard?" Daniel said nothing. He continued changing.

"Don't slow us down or you'll be the one with the problem." Michael threatened as Daniel said nothing.

The fighters all gathered in the mat with their gear near by. Tom is standing with his assistant Sam and three coaches who specialize in certain areas of training. The first coach is Javier Rios.

Javier is a Hispanic male with short black hair, brown eyes, a mustache and is short in stature. He is a jujitsu specialist. His job will be to work with the guys in their jujitsu skills.

Lane Castle is the wrestling g coach. He's a white male about six feet tall with auburn hair, brown eyes and a medium build. Lane's job is to assure that the fighters' wrestling skills are up to par.

The last coach is Davis Donaldson. Davis is the kickboxing coach standing tall at six four, jet black hair brown caramel eyes and is built like Sylvester Stallone. His job is to assure the fighter are well rounded strikers.

"Fellas, looking good in your gear." Tom said smiling as did the fighters. "Alright. Let's get down to it. First we're gonna see how fit you youngsters really are. Then we'll get into your training." He said. The coaches put the fighters through some intense cardio, weights and calisthenics training. Tom could tell some of the fighters were in pretty good shape. In fact, he could tell difference between the fighters who kept in shape, is just getting back into shape and who's out of shape. For instance, Donovan, Chris Michael are in decent shape but need to get back into shape. Walter, Billy and Steven are out of shape. The only two of the eight fighters in great shape are Daniel and Joey.

Tom was impressed with Daniel's physique. He let them rest to catch their breathes.

"Alright fellas. Some of you need to work on your cardio while others are pretty impressive. Now it's time for you guys to work with the coaches individually. Javier here is a jujitsu specialist and will work with you on your submissions. Those of you who don't know any submissions will learn some. Those of you who are skilled in submissions will work on tightening up your skills. Lane is the wrestling expert and will take you through all kinds of wrestling moves. Davis here is the kickboxing coach and will work with you guys on improving your strikes and kicks. So you'll pair into groups of three with one coach working with two of you." Tom said.

"Ok I will take Joey, Steven Walter." Lane said wanting to work with the wrestlers. Walter, Joey and Steven made their way over to Lane shaki g his hand.

"I'll take Donovan Michael." Davis said as the two of fighters made their way over to Javier.

"I'll take Chris and Billy." Davis said as both fighters made their way over to him. They shook his hand. Daniel stood there waiting to see who he was going to work with but knew better. Tom looked over at him realizing that the coaches or fighters didn't want to work with Daniel.

"Daniel, why don't you hit bag." Tom told him meaning that he wanted Daniel to put the gloves on and hit the punching bag. Daniel did exactly that. He began to punch the bag hard with precision. Sam felt bad for the kid. Even though he wasn't Tom's first choice didn't give them the right to treat him the way they did. Daniel knew they didn't want him on the team but was determined to make an impact. So if it met him training by himself then so be it.

Back at the mansion, Logan and Scott are in the garage talking while working on the car. The two are discussing Daniel.

"He said what?" Scott asked.

"He said I didn't get why he was still angry with us." Logan said looking up from the engine.

"Wow!" Scott responds watching Logan. "Well it sounds to me that he wants you to figure out why he's pissed and the fact that you haven't means he still gets to to be even more pissed." Scott said. Logan looked over at him questioningly.

"What?" Logan asked.

"I'm just saying that he believes you and Roh should know by now why he's angry." Scott said.

"First off, neither Roh or myself can read minds. That department belongs to my brother in law, your wife as well as Alex's." Logan said.

"And Professor." Scott said.

"Yes Charles. I don't know why my mentally handicap son is angry with us. We've reached out to him even apologized for the Christmas incident as well as trying to make up for his birthday but he has avoided us like the plague. What else should we be doing?" Logan said leaning back against the car now. "I'm out of options."

"Giving him time doesn't seem to work but the longer this goes on the harder it'll be to reach him." Scott said. "My friend you are caught between a rock and a hard place." Scott said.

"Tell me about it." Logan said.

"You know sometimes you can be pretty hard on him." Scott told him. Logan looked at Scott frowning a bit. It's true." Scott continued. Logan thought about that for s moment. Was Scott right? Had he been hard on him?

Meanwhile in the Howlett kitchen, Ororo and the ladies were talking while Ororo did the dishes. Emma helped her dry them.

"He's still not speaking?" Emma asked about Daniel.

"He gives me one word sentences. He barely eats with us anymore. He then got into an argument with Logan." Ororo said wiping down the plates.

"There has to be a way you and Logan can reach out to him." Emma said.

"We've tried. Daniel won't tell us what's going on with him. I'm worried though." Ororo said.

"Giving him his space doesn't seem to work." Megan said.

"Nope. I don't even know what my son is up to. Lately he's been in and out going about his business without telling me or Logan anything about his activities." Ororo said. The girls listened. "I saw a gym bag. Maybe he's been working out."

"Come to think of it, Alex mentioned something about Daniel looking a bit bigger than he was before. You know in the muscle department. Mybe he's becoming a body builder." Emma said. All three girls looked over at her with a smirk. "What it could happen."

"I don't think that's it." Jean said. "Maybe his working out is just his way of keeping in shape." Jean said.

"Yeah maybe." Ororo said. "In the meantime, how do I reach my son?"

"I think Daniel is still in some pain. We have to wait and let him come to us." Emma said.

"What if he doesn't?" Ororo asked.

"Maybe you're going about this all wrong." Megan said.

"What do you mean?" Ororo asked.

"What if we already know why Daniel has been so distant and have been ignoring the problem this whole time?" Megan asked. Ororo, Jean and Emma looked at her confused. "Let's look at the situation for a moment. What has happened to him so far that we know of?"

"He hadn't gotten a birthday present and he didn't get anything for Christmas." Jean said.

"But I tried to make it to him and he wanted no part of it." Ororo said.

"If he's still upset about that then he should get over it." Emma said.

"I think its what it represents to him." Megan said.

"Meaning?" Ororo asked.

"Maybe to Daniel being forgotten is the problem. He may feel left out." Megan said not realizing how right she was. Though there's more to it than that, she's right about him feeling left out where his family is concerned. Ororo thought about that and immediately felt guilty. Daniel was her son to. Why had she treated him different from her other children? This was something she'd have to come to terms with. Was this how Daniel felt all along? Only he knew the answer to that question.

To be continued.


	16. Chapter 16

Daniel (An X-Men Story)

Chapter Sixteen: Tournament Begins

The time had come for the tournament to begin. Daniel and his teammates drew the first match up. They are to face the Spitfires. They are the first two teams to compete and is one of two matches up today.

Both teams arrived at the collisium and headed for their respective locker rooms. While changing into their gear, the guys all gave Daniel dirty looks.

When both teams were dressed in their fighting gears, all made their way towards the area. Fans packed in to see these teams match up against one another.

The arena is huge with bleachers around it. Fans are taking their seats awaiting on the two teams. There's a table with three people seated. Daniel figured that they were the judges. The referee stood aside near the cage door awaiting for the fights to begin. On one side of the the Spitfire team. On the other side of the Lions. The announcer stood in the middle of the cage ready to get the festivities underway.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the very first Mixed Martial Arts Team Tournament!" The announcer said as everyone clapped. "Today the tournament begins. Sixteen teams will compete until their is one champion. The team will that wins the whole tournament will be crowned champions." The announcer said and again every clapped. "Today there will be two match ups. The first two teams to compete today are the Spitfires verses the Lions." The crowd clapped loudly. "The second match up will feature the Kings verses the Dragons." The clapped once more. "Eight fighters from both teams will square off and the team with the most points wins the team match up. So let's get to it shall we?" He asked as the crowd clapped again. "First, let's introduce the match ups. The first match will feature two wrestlers. Representing the Spitfires; Charles Tarnable and representing the Lions; Walter Maddox. The second fight features Glenn Newton of the Spitfires verses Billy Dillon of the Lions. Fight three will be Ben Carland verses Steven Nichols. The fourth fight features Nate Henry verses Chris Edwards. Match five features Xavier Gland verses Michael Kyle. The sixth fight features Jesus Iglacies verses Donovan Jones. The seventh match features Arthur Allen verses Joey Niles and the last match features Peter Dennings verses Daniel Howlett. Let the fights begin." The announcer said as the crowd clapped.

"Guys come here." Tom said huddling his team together. "Remember this is a point system match. Each of you have to score more points than your opponent and by the end of the last match we will have won." He said as the guys nodded.

"Go get'em Walt." Donovan said cheering on his teammate. Followed by a rouse of encouragement from the other teammates.

Match One: Walter Maddox vs. Charles Tarnable: Walter stands up to remove his robe. Charles does the same. Both guys were tended to by their coaches who prepped them for their fight. Both fighters stepped into the cage for their fight. Walter and Charles are both wrestlers so this match up is all about wrestling. The referee asked if they were ready to fight. Both fighters nodded before touching gloves and meeting in the middle of the cage. Both fighters circled each other before Charles goes for a take down. Walter stuffs the take down and punches Charles in the face stunning him. Walter seizes the advantage and takes Charles down to the mat. His teammates cheered him on as Walter tried to mount him. Charles who recovered from being punched recognized what he was doing and defended against the mount. Charles meanwhile pulled Walter into his full guard to protect against the mount. Walter tries to punch Charles again but Charles blocks him. Charles works his hips upright against Walter's torso. He is able to wrap his leg around Walter's neck securing a triangle choke hold. Walter tries to hold out but ends up tapping. Charles was declared the winner and won his team forty points while Walter got his team twenty points. The Lion's were down by twenty points with seven fights to go.

"Sorry guys." Walter said feeling dejected after his lose.

"Don't worry buddy we got this." Michael said comforting his teammate. Daniel watched but said nothing.

Match Two: Billy Dillon vs. Glenn Newton: Billy steps into the octagon ready to take on Glenn Newton. The referee commenced the fight as both fighters touched gloves. Glenn who is a kickboxer by trade gets the fight started with a few kicks to Billy's leg. Billy threw a few punches but missed. Glenn tried to go for a take down but Billy stuffed the take down, kneed Glenn in the stomach then punching him in the jaw knocking him out. The Lion's cheered. The referee stopped the fight. Billy was declared the winner. The Lions teammates cheered. Billy's win give the Lion's twenty points tying the Spotfires forty points each.

"Nice going man." Donovan said as the happily congratulated him. Billy smiled.

"We're tied and can take the lead. We can do this." Joey said.

"Good cause I'm up next." Steven said taking off his robe.

"Go for it bro." Billy said high fiving his teammates with the exception of Daniel.

Match Three: Steven Nichols vs. Ben Carland: Both Steven and Ben entered the octagon. The referee commenced the fight with both guys touching gloves. Both Steven and Ben are similar fighters in the fact that both guys love the take down and ground and pound. Ben secured a take down. Steven tries to pull him into a full guard. Ben rains down punches to Steven who did his best to block the punches. Steven found his opening and elbowed Ben to his eye cutting him open. Ben is bleeding like a sive out of his cut. Steven used this as his opportunity to reverse his position with Ben on his back now he begins to punch Ben in his face catching Ben several times. Ben wasn't able to mount a good defense and the referee stopped the fight. Steven cheered happily. He won his team twenty points putting them at sixty but Ben also scores some points so the Spitfires were behind by ten points. The Lions has sixty points, the Spitfires have fifty.

"Great job Stevie boy!" Donovan cheered as the team surrounded him. Daniel looked on observing the fights.

Match Four: Chris Edwards vs. Nate Henry: Once the fight got going, Nate went on the attack trying score quick points to within striking distance of the Lions but a spinning heel kick from Chris knocked him out cold. The Lions team cheered. Chris'points put the Spitfires further behind by thirty points. The Lions now have ninety points and the Spitfires have sixty points. Chris hugged his teammates as Daniel again was left out.

Match Five: Michael Kyle vs. Xavier Gland: Michael and Xavier traded punches the entire first round. It Was Xavier's roundhouse kick connecting with Michael's jaw which sent him to the mat knocking Michael out. The Spitfires tie the Lions with ninety points each.

The Spitfires 90 points - The Lions 90

Match Six: Donovan Jones vs. Jesus Iglacies: Donovan did his best to keep the match on his feet but Jesus took him down three times. The third time Donovan was taken down, Jesus submitted him with a rear naked choke hold securing forty more points for the Spitfires bringing their total to 130. They retook the lead. Donovan wasn't happy with his lost. The team seemed very dejected. If they were to win, they'd need both Joey and Daniel to win and win big.

Match Seven: Joey Niles vs. Arthur Allen: Joey and Arthur circled each other in the cage. Arthur tried to kick Joey's leg but Joey dodged it and punched him in the eye sending Arthur up against the cage. Joey went to work using a barrage of punches to his face. Arthur blocks some of the punches and tried to throw punches of his own but Joey ducked and went in for a take down. He lifted Arthur up and slammed him down onto the mat and quickly secured an armbar. The Lions team cheered as Joey won the fight and won forty points for his team. The Lions again tie the Spitfires at 130 points a piece. Donovan and the others hugged him happily congratulating him on a big win. They turned their attention to Daniel.

"Daniel, it's up to you now." Joey said. Daniel said nothing.

Match Eight: Daniel Howlett vs. Peter Dennings: Daniel was ready for this. Both he and Peter step into the octagon. Peter is two inches taller than he is but Daniel wasn't going to let that stop him. His plan was simple win by submission. The fight commenced. Peter went on the attack trying to strike Daniel. One of the punches landed on his eye but Daniel recovered long enough to dodged him. Daniel threw several strikes of his own landing on Peter's nose and eye. Daniel then kicked him knocking Peter back up against the cage. Peter recovered long enough to attempt a punch but Daniel ducked and swooped in for the take down. The fans went nuts. The Lions teammates all cheered. Well Joey did as his teammates watched. Daniel maneuvered his body over Peter's to secure an anaconda choke hold. Peter tapped and the referee stopped the fight. Daniel had won his match and secured forty points giving his team the comeback victory. The Lions has won the match 170 to 130. The trainers along with Joey and Sam all cheered. Donovan and others cheered for the fact that they will move on in the tournament. The announcer stepped back into the cage.

"Ladies and gentlemen, what a comeback. Your winners the Lions." The fans clapped. The Lions team headed back into the locker rooms to get cleaned up. Many of them sporting bruises to their faces.

"Way to go Danny boy!" Javier the jujitsu coach said congratulating him. Daniel smiled nodding. He cleaned his eye.

"That was some fight Daniel." Sam said smiling.

"TTanks." Daniel said studdering a bit.

"You got lucky kid." Tom said to Daniel who looked on not expecting any congratulations from the team. Sam frowned hard.

"Don't listen to him you were awesome." Javier said. Daniel managed a smiled.

"Hey check it out the Dragons are fighting the Kings." Donovan said as the guys sat back watching the fight. The Dragons went undefeated while absolutely demolishing the Kings. The Dragons team looks tough.

The team arrived back at the facility cheering happily. They had one their first match and was moving on in the tournament. Thanks to Joey and Daniel. Daniel was the only one who hadn't said anything. He knew the team was expecting him to lose so they could use it as an excuse to further pick on him. It really didn't matter what he did, they wouldn't like him or except him. From this point on, he'd fight to prove nothing to no one. He was doing this for himself.

"Coach, we won. Can we at least celebrate?" Donovan asked.

"Sure why the hell not." Tom said as Sam got on the phone and ordered pizza. Once the pizza came, the guys went into the kitchen and sat around the table talking. "You guys did well in your matches."

"Yeah." Lane said.

"But some of us lost our fights." Donovan said feeling a bit down.

"Well that just means we have work to do but at least we get to face another team." Davis said.

"That's right. So for now, enjoy the win and we'll get back to training." Tom said.

"I'll say one thing. Joey and Daniel won us the points we needed to win." Steven said.

"Joey did well but the retard got lucky. Dont retards get lucky?" Michael asked as the guys laughed. The coaches looked over at them ashamed of their behavior. Daniel abruptly leaves the kitchen. Joey shakes his head at them and goegot see if Daniel is ok.

Daniel was placing items into his duffle bag getting ready to leave. He wasn't hungry and quite frankly couldn't stomach anymore of the local retard teasing. He put his cap on backwards. When Joey comes up to him.

"Hey, you ok?" Joey asked.

"Fine." Daniel said.

"Hey don't listen to them." Joey said as Daniel continued getting ready to leave. "You were amazing out there."

"Thanks." Daniel said. "Gotta go."

"Ok. See you tomorrow." Joey said as Daniel nods as he leaves the Lion's Den facility.

Logan is at the mansion sitting in the bedroom he shares with Ororo. He's seated in the floor by the bed looking at a photo album of the kids. He couldn't stop thinking about Daniel and where he went wrong with him. It was something Scott said about him being hard on him. Was Logan too tough on Daniel? If so then why? Was it because Daniel wasn't like the rest of his siblings? Logan continued looking through the photos.

Ororo had finished grading the final exams of her students. The house was pretty quiet with the kids out and about. She wondered where her husband was. She decided to look for him.

"Logan honey where are you?" She called our to him. She looked in the living room and kitchen but he wasn't there. She figured he was taking a nap and decided to check on him. She made her way to their bedroom. "Logan, you here?"

"Over here darlin." Logan said to her. He looks and sees his beautiful wife moving towards him. "Hey."

"Hey. What are you doing?" Ororo asked.

"Just looking at some pictures of our children." Logan said. "Trying figure out where I went wrong with Daniel." Ororo sat down next to him. "Roh, do you think I've been too hard on Daniel?"

"I don't think so. I think we both have been treating him differently from his siblings. He's not happy about that." Ororo said. "I've been trying to make up for it but I don't know what else to do. I guess he'll forgive us when he's ready."

"Yeah I guess." Logan said going back to the pictures. He picked up the picture of Daniel as a three year old. "Look at him." He said as Ororo looked at the picture of a smiling Daniel. "He was cute with his gap tooth." Logan said smiling. Ororo chuckling.

"Yeah he was. He and David had similar gaps in their teeth making it even harder to tell them apart." Ororo said as they both laughed.

"Roh, how do we fix our relationship with our little man?" Logan asked.

"We have to stop treating him like he's a little boy and see him fornthe young man he's becoming." Ororo said. "Maybe if he sees this he might be willing to tell us how he's really feeling." Ororo said.

"You think there's more going on than we know about?" Logan asked.

"Oh I know there is." Ororo said. Both continued going through the pictures and giggling at the funny ones remembering all the good times they had with their children.

David and his friends are at the local pizza shop having a bite while talking. Seated around the table are David, Candice, Adreana, Tori, Hank, Dorien, Clay, Willie and Shawn.

"I cannot wait til school is over." Hank said.

"That makes all of us dude." Willie said.

"No more homework." Clay said.

"And plenty of sleeping in." Shawn said as he and Clay high fives each other.

"Yeah it means more time with my honey." David said pulling Candice into him as the two kissed.

"Get a room." Dorien said as the group laughed. "Speaking of which. My parents said I could have a few friends over to hang out. You guys wanna come over on the last day of school?"

"Yeah sure." The entire group said in unison agreeing to hang out at Dorien's House at the last day of school.

"Hey Dave, what's up with your brother Daniel? Haven't seen him around much." Adreana asked.

"Why, you crushing on him?" Clay asked as the others laughed.

"Shut up." Adreana said.

"Uh-oh, Dave Your brother the retard has an admirer." Hank said as the others laughed.

"Hank!" Adreana said.

"Don't talk about him like that." David said firmly.

"Sorry dude. It's just that you always bag on him." Hank said.

"He's my brother! I can bag on him you can't got that?!" David asked firmly.

"Ok, Ok." Hank said looking away going back to his pizza.

"Adreana still gotta thing for him though." Clay said as they laughed.

"Come on. It's not like that. I just haven't seen him around that's all." Adreana defended herself. Truth be told, she liked Daniel but was too afraid to go out with him on the count of people would tease her for being with the local retard.

"He's been keeping his distance from the family." David said to answer her question.

"Why?" Hank asked.

"He's pissed at us. Not sure why?" David said continuing to eat his food. They stared at him a second knowing why Daniel's been keeping his distance especially from them. None bothered to say as much.

Daniel arrived back home from the Lion's Den facility after having successfully moved his team to the next round in the tournament. Ororo is sitting on the couch reading a magazine. Logan had decided to take a nap after looking at the pictures so she left him in the room. She looked up to see Daniel sporting a bruised eye.

"Hey." Ororo said concerned.

"Hey." Daniel said heading for his room.

"What happened to your eye?" She asked.

"Rough Training." Daniel lied without missing a beat.

"Are you ok?" She asked him concerned.

"Fine." Daniel said sprinting up the stairs to his room. Ororo sighed deeply. What was she to do fix things with her son?

To Be continued


	17. Chapter 17

Daniel (An X-Men Story)

Chapter Seventeen: Suspicious

A few days had gone by since Daniel and his team competed in their first match up against the Spitfires. They won. Daniel had been back and forth to the Lion's Den facility training. He hadn't said much to his parents let alone his siblings. Two of his siblings more specifically his two older brothers hadn't seen him.

John and Azari had been suspicious of Daniel's activities. They'd watch him come and go without unttering a word to them. They wanted to know what he was up to. John and Azari are watching Daniel grab a pop tart, an orange juice then leaves the house.

"John, what do you think he's up to?" Azari asked.

"No idea. I hope it's nothing illegal." John said as they both laughed.

"Come on bro, you know he isn't smart enough to do something illegal." Azari said smirking.

"You never know bro." John said as they giggled.

Daniel sat by himself during lunch at school. Something he had grown accustomed to. He was enjoying a turkey cheese sandwich with a vitamin water. He is sitting on the bench next to the tree eating while looking at a UFC magazine. Joey who attends the high school not too far away spots Daniel eating on his own. Joey stood by the fence watching Daniel feeling sorry for him. He realized that Daniel had no friends. He wondered if this bothered Daniel. Joey couldn't tell but knew that no one could go their entire life without friends. He figured some people wanted to be alone and then there are others who want friends but don't know how to find them. And there are those who are isolated due to the way the may look, sound, or because they've been deemed losers by their peers. Daniel fit the later of that group. Everyone called him the local retard not bothering to get to know him. Joey himself didn't know him. Maybe that would change. He turned and left vowing to at the very least talk to him.

"With school almost out, I know the kids are happy." Megan said sitting in Professor Xavier's office. With her are Rion, Alex, Emma, Jean, Scott, Professor Xavier, Logan and Ororo.

"Yeah our boys are excited." Scott said. "They can't wait to sleep in and Nate wants to going to baseball camp."

"That's all they can talk about." Jean said as the group laughed.

"Lex wants to stay home play video games all day." Emma said.

"That ain't happening. His butt will be getting some air if I have to drag him outside myself." Alex said as the group continued to laugh.

"Our kids are already running around out about." Logan said.

"Do they have plans for the summer?" Jean asked.

"Well John said he's teaching, Azari wants to spend six weeks in football camp. You know Lucas, James and Oliver are going to be playing video games all summer." Ororo said.

"No they won't. I'm taking them camping." Logan said drinking a can of beer.

"What about Kendall?" Emma asked.

"She says she wants to go out for the cheerleading squad next year as a seventh grader. So she wants to go to a two week cheerleading camp." Ororo said.

"Are you sending her?" Megan asked.

"Of course. It's something she's passionate about so we're letting her go." Ororo said.

"Besides, my baby girl is a great cheerleader." Logan said as the others laughed.

"It's so cool how our children have plans for their summers." Scott said.

"Yeah it is." Jean said.

"What about Daniel?" Professor Xavier asked. Logan and Ororo looked at each other.

"We don't know what Daniel will be doing. He hasn't spoken to us." Ororo said.

"And when he does it's usually one word sentences." Logan said.

"I wonder what he's up to?" Rion asked.

"I think he's been hitting the gym. He's growing muscles." Ororo said.

"What gym is he going to? We have a perfectly good workout center in the mansion." Alex asked.

"I saw the duffle bag he had. A place called the Lion's Den." Ororo said. Rion thought about that for a moment.

"The Lion's Den huh? Sounds like some sort of cult or something." Emma said.

"Well whatever it is it's working. He's putting on muscle." Ororo said.

"My boy is getting big. Just like his dad." Logan said smiling flexing. The others laughed. Logan in his own right is in great shape.

"Well Daniel seems to be using his distance from the family to keep in shape." Professor Xavier said.

"You think there's more to his distance than meets the eye?" Jean asked.

"Of course there is. Daniel doesn't want to talk about it because he believes we won't be heard." Professor Xavier said.

"We tried to get him to talk to us but he's hellbent on keeping his distance." Logan said.

"What can we do?" Ororo asked.

"We'll need to let Daniel open up when he's ready." Professor Xavier said.

"How long before my baby talks to us again?" Ororo asked. Truth be told she missed Daniel talking to her. She knew he was hurt but why else was he keeping his distance? What was she missing? Professor Xavier wouldn't say but he knew why Daniel was acting the way he was. It wasn't his place to say anything. Daniel had to workout his feelings with his parents. The problem was getting him to open up again. Only more time would tell if Daniel opened up.

Daniel and his MMA teammates took on their second round opponents in the Cyclones. Like the first match up, the points needed to win the match was left up to Joey and Daniel. Both combined to secure the victory for their team moving them past the semi finals. In two weeks they'd face the Eagles in the finals. If they won, not only will they be regional A champs but they'd move on the the MMA Team Championship match.

The guys cheered happily ignoring Daniel while on the bus back to the Lion's Den facility. The guys teased Daniel mercilessly and to their disappointment he said nothing. When the bus arrived at the facility, Daniel grabbed his bag and ran off the bus. He unchained his bike from the bike rack and rode home without saying goodbye to his teammates. Daniel scurried home to avoid missing curfew but he was late. He got off his bike and walked his bike slowly to the front of the house then stood it up against the wall of the house next to his siblings' bikes. Daniel then crept to the back of the house and up the stairs to his room. He knew the only person who could hear him is his father Logan and really didn't care. He got to his room carefully sliding the glass door to his room open and moving stealthily into the room before slowly closing it shut then locking it. Daniel had taken some shots to the body and had bruising on his left side because of it but managed to secure another win via submission. He got undressed and took a quick shower to wash away the stench of his opponent making sure not to touch his bruised rib before dressing for bed. Despite being happy about his second straight tournament win, Daniel was still the outside on his team. No one spoke with him nor did they train with him. Joey felt bad but did nothing to stifle that feeling. Tom talked about training as a team but said nothing while Daniel was teased and ignored. So much for teamwork. He slipped into bed and fell asleep.

To be continued


	18. Chapter 18

Daniel (An X-Men Story)

Chapter Eighteen: The Dare

The weather was bright on this Sunday afternoon. David's friends are in the park waiting on him. Candice is with them of course. They are talking about one thing or another. They couldn't wait til the school year was over.

"What are you doing for the summer?" Dorien asked.

"We will working with kids as camp counselors." Tori said. "It's three weeks of fun in the sun at Great Lakes camp site." As she, Candice and Adreana high fiving each other smiling.

"Don't let David here you say that. He'll miss his girl." Hank said.

"No he won't. We'll both be gone for about the same time and will return home about the same time." Candice said.

"Yep. Then we'll have three more weeks to ourselves before school starts again." Adreana said.

"What are you guys doing for the summer?" Tori asked.

"I'll be working for my dad as a mechanic." Hank said.

"Didn't know you were good with cars Hank." Tori said.

"Well you never asked." Hank said as they laughed. Tori stuck out her tongue to him teasingly.

"What about you Dorien?" Adreana asked asked.

"I will be working at the cafe this summer." Dorien said.

"Holyshit! Good luck with that dude." Clay said as they laughed.

"Yeah, yeah. Money is money." Dorien said laughing. "What are you you doing this summer?"

"Well, Shawn, Will I are joining David at baseball camp for a couple of weeks." Clay said smiling.

"Damn I knew I missed the sign up date." Dorien said angered at himself.

"I wish I could go but my dad can't afford to send me." Hank said.

"Maybe next summer." Shawn said. Both Dorien and Hank nodded.

"Hey Adreana, when are you asking Daniel out?" Willie asked her jokingly. Adreana looked over at him frowning.

"What?!" Adreana asked.

"When are you asking Daniel out?" Willie asked.

"Yeah inquiring minds wanna know." Tori said as they laughed.

"I'm not." Adreana said.

"Come on Dreana, we know you like Daniel." Candice said.

"No I don't." Adreana said defending herself and poorly at that. She stares down at her phone trying to distract herself but it's not working. She can't stop thinking about Daniel.

"You will ask him out eventually." Clay said to her.

"No I won't." Adreana said firmly.

"Wanna bet?" Clay asked mischievously.

"What?" Adreana clearly annoyed now.

"Wanna bet?" Clay asked.

"No I don't. How many times must I tell you guys that I'm not attracted to Daniel?" Adreana asked.

"The better question is who are you trying to convince? Us or yourself?" Tori asked. Adreana rolled her eyes.

"I'll tell you what Dreana, why don't we put you to the test." Will said.

"What test?" Adreana asked.

"Thee test. If you can date Daniel for twos weeks without catching feelings for him then we'll be convinced." Will said.

"No way." Adreana said.

"It's literally the only way you can prove that you don't like him." Tori said as the others nodded. Adreana stares at the faces of her friends and sighs deeply.

"Fine. I'll do it but if I win, you have to buy me lunch up until we leave for summer camp." Adreana said.

"Bet." Clay said. They shook hands. Daniel is riding his bike through the park taking a short cut to the Lion's Den for training session. Clay spots him. "Speak of the devil." He said smiling. They all turn and see Daniel riding his bike. "No time like the present." He said to Adreana who rolled her eyes and jogs over to where Daniel is riding.

"Daniel! Hey Daniel!" Adreana yells to him. Daniel spots her and stops his bike. "Hey." She said smiling to him.

"Hey Adreana. How's it going?" Daniel said slowly making sure not to stutter.

"Everything's good. How about you?" She asked making small talk.

"It's good." Daniel said. He noticed that Adreana was acting like a nervous teenager around him. Well she was a nervous teenager who was lying to herself about not liking Daniel. Just being around him was making her nervous in a good way.

"I wanted to know if you were free tonight?" Adreana asked him nervously.

"Uh yeah I guess so. Why?" Daniel asked.

"Do you wanna hang out tonight with me?" Adreana asked nervously.

"You mean like a date?" Daniel asked her. Truth be told he liked her. Daniel thought she was hot and wouldn't dare say no.

"Yes like a date." She said giggling. Daniel smiled as well. His smile was making her more nervous than she had let on.

"I'd love to." Daniel said.

"Do you have your cell phone with you?" She asked. Daniel pulled out his cell phone. Adreana types in her name and number in the contact section of his cellular. "Call me at seven. I'll tell you where to pick me up. Ok?"

"Ok. See you tonight." Daniel said. Adreana winked at him before walking away. Daniel watched her smiling before getting back on his bike and riding off.

"Well it's done. Daniel and I will be going on a date tonight." Adreana said.

"Dreana, here has a thing for Danny." Clay said as the others laughed. Adreana shook her head.

"Way to go girl." Tori said congratulating Adreana.

"Guys there's one other thing." Willie said.

"What's that?" Hank asked.

"We cannot let David or Daniel know about the bet." Clay said. They agreed. Candice didn't feel right about not telling David about the bet fearing that he'd get mad but decided to keep her mouth shut.

During practice, Donovan and Daniel were paired to spar against one another. Donovan talked a lot of trash to Daniel who said nothing. Both circled each other in the octagon readying themselves.

"Ready to get your ass kicked, retard?" Donovan asked nastily. Daniel said nothing and threw his hands up. Donovan went on the attack trying to hit Daniel intentionally trying to hurt him but Daniel eluded him every step of the way. Daniel seized the moment and took Donovan down and quickly submitted him. Donovan got mad and shoved Daniel back angrily. Daniel shoved him back equally angered. Donovan hit the canvas of the octagon before Javier got in between them.

"The retard wins." Michael said as his teammates with exception of Donovan and Daniel all laughed.

"I'll fuck you up!" Donovan yelled. "Fucking retard." He continued. Daniel glared at him.

"Hey, hey!!!" Javier said getting Donovan's attention. "You lost. Get over it."

"Enough!" Tom said. "We won two matches and had to rely on Joey and surprisingly Daniel to win both fights. All of you know what you need to work on and that is what you do. Now let's go." He said as the guys went to work on their skills. Daniel decided to work on his cardio. Donovan kept shooting him dirty looks but Javier got his attention to work on submissions.

David and Candice are sitting at the local cafe having a bite to eat. The two are on a date. Both loved just casually hanging out together. He fed her a French fry. She giggled.

"I'm gonna miss you when you go to summer camp." David said to her leaning into kiss her lips. Candice smiled loving the way David's lips felt.

"I'm gonna miss you to. We'll only be gone for a few weeks. Besides you have baseball camp." Candice said.

"I know but I was hoping to have you all to myself." David said.

"You will. Summer camp and baseball camp only last for three weeks. Before you know it we'll be in each other's arms." She said pulling him into a lustful kiss. "Oh guess who'll be working here for the summer?"

"Who?" David asked.

"Dorien." Candice said as David laughed.

"I know he wanted to go baseball camp." David said his laughter subsiding.

"Why isn't he going. I thought you had to fill out the form." Candice said.

"He did and forgot to submitt it along with the payment needed to secure his spot." David said.

"He's such a dork." Candice said as David chuckled. "Oh, Hank is going to be working with his dad." She said as David nodded knowing that Hank liked to work with his hands. "Guess who Dreana has a date with?"

"Who?" David asked.

"Daniel." Candice said. David damn near spit his soda out. Candice smirked.

"What?" David asked shocked. "My dorky stuttering brother has a date with Adreana?" He asked.

"Yep." Candice said sipping her soda.

"How did he get up the courage to ask her out?" David asked.

"That's just it. She asked him." Candice revealed conveniently leaving out that it was based on a dare.

"Holyshit!" David said. "Color me surprised." He said continuing to eat his pizza.

"I hope it works out." Candice said.

"Doubtful but hey if she likes him then so be it." David said as Candice looked at him puzzled. She wondered why he treated his brother the way he did. Probably the same reason everyone else did.

Later on that evening, Daniel had called Adreana to go on their date. He had taken a quick shower after having a tough training session. He was dressed in black jeans, a tank top t-shirt underneath a blue button down shirt and slacks. His hair was slicked back and he had shaved the only little bush growing under his chin. The early signs of a goatee growing. He smelled of after shave and cologne. He had left the house on his bike.

Adreana had told him to meet her at the local cafe for dinner. She didn't deem it necessary to have him pick her up. She wasn't sure about doing this. She did like Daniel but didn't want to do this to him. She could've just said no to the dare but a part of her wanted to see what it was like to date him. She herself was dressed in a black mini skirt with a pink blouse and her hair is hung to the left side. She smelled of perfume and is wearing lip gloss. Her loop earrings dangled from her ears and she wore black shoes.

She spots Daniel riding his bike up to the local cafe. He stopped setting his bike up to the rack securing it with a chain. Adreana took in Daniel's appearance. He cleaned up well. He certainly smelled good. She could tell he was a bit nervous. He walks up to her.

"Hey beautiful." Daniel said trying not to stutter and doing a good job. Adreana smiled.

"Hey handsome." She said smiling. She found herself blushing.

"You look amazing." Daniel said to her.

"Ss do you." She said.

"Shall we?" He said opening the door for her.

"We shall." She said she headed into the cafe. Daniel followed. Both were seated at a table. "So Daniel, how have you been?" She asked making conversation as the two found a table.

"I've been fine." Daniel said. "How bout you?"

"I'm fine." She said.

"You sure are." Daniel said as Adreana smiled. "I don't know that much about you."

"What do you wanna know?" She asked.

"What's your favorite color? What kind of music do you like? What kinds of things are you into? Do you like animals?" Daniel asked stuttering a bit.

"Woah, one question at a time." Adreana said. Daniel looked down.

"Sorry. I'm just excited that you asked me out." Daniel said.

"Well I'll answer your questions if you answer them first." Adreana said playfully.

"Ok. My favorite color is blue, I like rb music, I love MMA, and I love dogs. Oh and I like all kinds of food." Daniel said as Adreana chuckles. Daniel smiles. The waiter comes over and takes their order. Daniel order a veggie pizza with a Diet Coke. Adreana took notice to this and liked the fact that he kept himself in good health by eating good food. She herself ordered a veggie burger with a Diet Pepsi.

"Well that was some list. Ok my turn. Let's see. My favorite color is pink, I'm into all kinds of music but my favorite is rb, I'm into dancing, I love dogs to. Oh and I love pizza." Adreana said as Daniel smiled.

"Dancing is cool." Daniel said.

"Do you know how to dance?" She asked him.

"I can do the moonwalk. Does that count?" Daniel asked as Adreana laughed. "Would you mind teaching me a few moves?"

"Ok." Adreana said as both stared at each other. She was having a good time with him. Their food came and both began to eat. "So did I hear right? You're into MMA?"

"Yes." Daniel said taking bite of his pizza.

"Do you train?" She asked.

"Yes. I earned my brown belt from my uncle who teaches." Daniel said.

"Do you compete?" Adreana asked.

"Yes." Daniel said making sure to leave out the tournmanet he's in.

"Wow! You think you can teach me a few moves?" Adreana asked.

"Of course." Daniel said. Both smiled nervously at each other both kept eating in a comfortable silence.

David arrived home after spending the afternoon with Candice. Ororo is in the kitchen fixing snacks. David had missed dinner but it didn't matter. Logan was sitting on the couch with James, Oliver, Kendall and Lucas watching a baseball game.

"Hey everyone." David said.

"Hey son." Logan said.

"How was your date?" Kendall asked.

"Good." David said.

"I like Candice. She's nice." Kendall said.

"Not to mention hot." Lucas said as David, James and Oliver laughed. Kendall shook her head. Ororo smirked.

"Where's John Azari?" David asked.

"At some concert with Kitty and Tina." Ororo said. "Speaking of your brother, have you seen Daniel?" She asked.

"Oh he's on a date." David said as they turned to him shocked.

"Say what?" Logan asked as this bit of news got his attention.

"A date." David said. He noticed their expressions. "Yeah I had the same reaction along with a little laughter." He said smirking.

"Who's the girl?" Kendall asked.

"Adreana. She's one of Candice's best friends." David said.

"Is she hot to?" Lucas asked.

"She's just as hot as Candice." David said smirking.

"Better not let Candice here you say that." Ororo said smirking.

"She won't." David said smiling going to get one of the bowls of ice cream put out by Ororo.

"Can you believe it? Daniel is on a date." Logan said sounding a little proud of his son.

"With a girl." Ororo said shocked. Neither of them believed Daniel was capable of dating but there he was again defying odds. "Hope it works out for him."

"Me to." Logan said as he stood up to help Ororo pass out the bowls of ice cream.

After having dinner, Daniel took Adreana to a movie. The two saw a comedy and couldn't stop laughing. Daniel hadn't smiled this much in a very long time. He liked Adreana. Not only is she hot but she's smart, funny and smelled good. Most importantly, she didn't make fun of him.

Adreana found herself really having fun with Daniel. He was smart, funny not to mention handsome. She liked Daniel a lot but wouldn't admit it. Daniel wasn't the dork David said he was. He's kind hearted, generous and a total sweetheart. Sure Daniel had a stuttering problem and is a bit slow but she didn't really see that. What she saw was a guy struggling with what society deems acceptable and unacceptable. Daniel wasn't accepted. She felt for him. Maybe this was why she decided to take the dare. A part of her was starting to regret it.

The two walked to Adreana's home which wasn't that far from the cinema. Both had their bikes with them. The two had talked about the movie and laughed while doing so. They came upon her home.

"This is me." She said stopping at the gate of her house. "I had a great time Daniel."

"Me to. Maybe we could do it again sometime?" Daniel asked.

"Ok. Call me and we'll talk." Adreana said.

"Ok." Daniel said nervously. Adreana turned to leave but Daniel gently grabs her arm and leans in to kiss her lips. Adreana is surprised by the kiss. What was more alarming was that she liked it. The kiss made her weak in the knees. "I'll call you tomorrow."

"Uh-huh." Was all she could muster. Daniel turned, got on his bike and rode home. Adreana smiled before heading into her house.

To Be Continued!!!!


	19. Chapter 19

Daniel (An X-Men Story)

Chapter Nineteen: Love Connection

Daniel sat on his bed the next morning holding his cellphone wondering if he should call Adreana. Their date had gone well and he even got to kiss her before the date was over. He decided to call her. He went to the recent calls on his phone log, found Adreana's number and pressed the call button.

Adreana was eating breakfast. Her dad had to work this morning and left her a note with some cash for the day. Thank the lord it was Sunday. She decided to make a bowl of fruity pebbles and sit down to eat. She thought about her date with Daniel last night. She had a good time. Not only had he taken her to dinner but they'd had a great conversation. Daniel hadn't stuttered much to her delight and was able to understand him. She could also tell that Daniel was in great shape. She liked that about him. Her phone rang.

"Hello." She said casually.

"Hey beautiful." Daniel said casually and slowly making sure not to stutter.

"Hi there." She smiled over the phone.

"How did you sleep?" Daniel asked. He thought it was a bit of a weird question but couldn't stop the words from leaving his mouth. Adreana thought the question was weird but wouldn't say.

"I slept well. How about you?" Adreana asked.

"I couldn't stop dreaming about you." Daniel said smoothly. Adreana chuckled over the phone. Even her laugh made Daniel smile. "Too cheesy?" He asked.

"A little yeah." She said chuckling.

"So what do you have planned for today?" He asked.

"Not much. Why?" Adreana asked.

"Wondered if you wanted to spend the day with me? We could go bike riding, have a little ice cream, maybe even see a movie." Daniel asked.

"Sounds like fun. Meet me in the park in an hour." Adreana said.

"Cool. See you then." Daniel said as he and Adreana both hung up their cell phones.

Daniel didn't have training session today so he could relax with and spend the day with a pretty young lady. He got dressed and headed downstairs.

Ororo sees him and wonders if he's in a better mood. She remembered hearing that he was on a date and was curious to know about it. She watched him grab a pop tart and put it in the toaster to heat up.

"Good morning." She said to him.

"Morning." Daniel said not looking at her.

"I heard you had a date last night?" She asked.

"Yep." Daniel responds before his pop tart popped out of the toaster.

"How'd it go?" She asked him.

"Fine." Daniel said as he put the pop tart in his mouth and left the house. He grabbed his bike and rode off. Ororo shook her head.

Daniel had met up with Adreana in the park. The two embraced in a hug before deciding to spend the day together. The two went bike riding in the park, he told Adreana a few jokes which she laughed at. She didn't think Daniel could be funny but there he was telling jokes. The two shared a chocolate cone before kissing. He did his best to explain his feelings but ended up dropping the subject. Adreana finally understood what he was going through and why he was alone.

He told her about his training in mixed martial arts. At first she didn't believe him so he proved it to her by teaching her a self defense move and two submission moves. The two kiss again.

Azari made sandwiches for Johnny and himself for lunch. He placed two plates on the table. Then into the fridge to get two bottles of vitamin waters. He sat down. Both began eating their sandwiches. Azari started off as if he was deep in thought. John noticed this and calls him on it.

"Hey, What's on your mind?" John asked Azari. Azari turns to him.

"Danny." Azari said putting his sandwich down on the plate. "I've been thinking about him and his disappearing act."

"And?" John asked.

"And we have to find out what he's been up to." Azari said.

"Why?" John asked.

"So we can know what he's up to." Azari responds.

"Why do we even care?" John asked continuing to eat his sand which.

" All of us have been giving him his space but don't know what he's been up to. We see him coming and going. Mom said he was at this new gym." Azari said.

"Maybe he's bulking up." John said.

"For what exactly is the golden question." Azari said.

"Did you ever think that the reason he hasn't told us what he's been up to is because he doesn't want us to know?" John asked.

"Yeah but when has they ever stopped us? I mean the only reason mom and dad don't know what Daniel has been up to is because they've kept their distance." Azari said.

"Ok so what should we do?" John asked.

"We follow him. Find out about this gym he's going to. Maybe join up ourselves." Azari said.

"Ok." John said. Azari nods going to eat his sand which. "We follow him the next time he leaves the house with his duffle bag."

"Yeah." Azari said as both continued eating their sandwiches.

Walking her home from their day together, Daniel had learned a lot from Adreana like that her dad was a police officer and her mother owns a salon. She has an older brother who's in college and a younger brother who's in junior high. He likes her a lot. Adreana has learned a few things about Daniel as well like how he has been training in MMA. He even showed a couple of submission moves to go with the self defense moves. She liked him and was having a good time.

"Well this is me." Adreana said as they stopped in front of her house.

"I had a good time." Daniel said.

"Me to." Adreana said.

"Adreana, I really like you and hope that you and I can hang out more. I was hoping you would be my girlfriend?" Daniel asked. Adreana looked at him awkwardly. A part of her wanted to say yes she'd be his girlfriend and was having fun with him but then remembered the bet she had with her friends. She didn't respond. Daniel took that to mean that she had to think about it. "It's ok, you don't have to answer right away." He said then kissing her lips. "I'll call you tomorrow." He said before turning climbing on his bike and riding home. Adreana felt a strong pang of guilt in the pit of her stomach. She liked Daniel and having to lie to him wasn't what she wanted to do but if she didn't, it would mean that her friends were right and her feelings for Daniel were real and she wasn't ready to admit that. Daniel is a guy who is decent and pure. Kind hearted and loving. How could she live with herself having tricked him? Daniel was sure to be hurt.

Daniel arrived back at the house with his bike. David is sitting on the couch watching TV. He had heard that Daniel was on a date and wanted to talk about it. Truth be told, he and his twin hadn't talked much since school started. That was thanks in part to David making it clear that Daniel was to leave him and his friends alone. He felt bad about that. He wanted to know about the date cause his curiosity was getting the best of him.

"Hey bro." David said as Daniel headed straight for the kitchen. Daniel said nothing. David followed him towards the kitchen. "Our siblings are all busy, our parents are meeting with Professor Xavier along with our aunts and uncles. If you wanted to know." David said.

"So." Daniel said taking a sip of a bottle of water. David shook his head as Daniel kept his back to him.

"Heard you had a date with Adreana?" David asked.

"Yep." Daniel responds.

"How was it?" David asked.

"Fine." Daniel said.

"Just fine?" David asked smirking. Daniel said nothing. "Look, I'm just trying to offer some advice about girls."

"Oh yeah and what advice would that be twin?" Daniel asked nastily.

"You don't have to give me attitude bro. I'm just trying to help." David said raising his voice.

"Who said I needed or wanted your help?!" Daniel yelled. "Last time I check you wanted me to stay away from you and your friends. I'm doing exactly that."

"Adreana is my friend to." David said.

"Watch it Dave, wouldn't want to make Candice jealous with her best friend." Daniel said sarcastically.

"It's not like that and you know it." David said defending himself. He thought Adreana was hot but Candice is the girl he wants.

"Yeah well I like her and it's none of your business." Daniel said.

"You think she likes a retard like you?" David asked angrily as Daniel frowned hard at him. "Get a grip. A girl like Adreana doesn't date retarded boys like you."

"Fuck you David. Just fuck off." Daniel said angrily taking his bottle and running upstairs. David sighed feeling guilty.

"Shit!" David said.

To Be Continued!!!!


	20. Chapter 20

Daniel (An X-Men Story)

Chapter Twenty: Lying

Daniel made his way into the home room. He and his classmates were taking their final examines today. Once the exams was done they'd have the afternoon off. They will be taking their RCT exams in the classroom in a few days.

Daniel looked around waiting on Adreana. The last two weeks with her been fun. He really likes her and it was nice to talk to someone. He watched as David, Willie, Hank, Clay and Dorien made their way into the classroom. They were followed by Candice, Tori and Adreana. Daniel smiled happy to see her. He waved to her but she didn't see him. She sat next to Dorien. Daniel was confused by this. Candice saw this and knew what was wrong.

The teens took their finals. David and his friends were some of the few kids who finished first. Daniel finished his exams moments later and rushed out of the classroom to catch up to Adreana.

"Adreana. Adreana wait up." Daniel said. Adreana frowned a moment but stops.

"What is it Daniel?" She asked harshly. Daniel was thrown off by her sudden attitude towards him.

"I wanted to know if you'll have dinner with me tonight?" He asked her smiling. David and the others watched from their perspective positions ahead of her. Dorien is next to her.

"I can't I'm busy." Adreana said flatly then turning to leave with the others. Daniel stood their dumbfounded. David watched a moment realizing he was right. He turns to leave with his friends. Candice realized the two weeks was up and that Adreana didn't have to date Daniel anymore and has begun avoiding him.

Rion and Alex decide to hold a training class out doors giving the kids a chance to get some fresh air and enjoy the weather. Some wonder if Ororo was responsible for this beautiful weather but knew better as she doesn't use her abilities unless absolutely necessary.

The kids are running out to their usual training spot with their gear in their hands having done this before. Alex and Rion smiles as they follow but stop short seeing Daniel about ten feet away from them shadowboxing in his yellow and black Lion's Den shorts shirtless with no shoes on in the grass. He had come home from school having finished their finals and was allowed to leave school. He needed to clear his head. Why had Adreana acted so harshly to him? He didn't know. He wondered what he had said or did to make her feel the way she did but something was wrong and he knew it. So what better way to clear his head then to shadowbox.

Rion and Alex watched him a moment. Daniel was definitely bigger muscle wise. He had put on about ten pounds of muscle. Both Alex and Rion watched in amazement. They go over to him.

"Hey Danny, what's up?" Alex asked. No responds. He looks at Rion.

"Daniel you in there?" Rion asked in a joking manner but Daniel said nothing continued to throw imaginary punches. "You training for something?" He stops shadowboxing, picks up his towel, put the towel on his left shoulder before walking away from them both. "You think he's still mad?"

"Yep." Alex said as they make their way to their students.

Candice accompanied David and their friends back to the Howlett house. There sitting on the couch are Azari, John, Bobby, Rogue and Kitty. John, Bobby, Rogue and Kitty had all taken their exams and passed. They'd be moving on to their sophomore years of college. Azari's school had let out early as well. He had taken exams and passed them as well. He was glad to be off from school.

"Hey guys." Rogue said as the other greeted her.

"So glad the only tests left are the RCTs and then school is out for the summer." Clay said.

"Yep." David said.

"Hey guys, ladies." Bobby said. "What's up?"

"School's almost out that's what." David said.

"We cannot wait." Willie said sitting on the couch next to Clay. He, Clay, Hank, Dorien have only been to the Howlett mansion a few times. Candice has been there more times since she is dating David. The gang had met Bobby, Rogue and Kitty a couple of times. The only one who hadn't been to the Howlett home was Adreana who by sheer coincidence was absent having gone home.

"We took our final exams and will be testing for our RCTs in a couple of days." Candice said.

"Yeah and once that's over we're free." Hank said as the group laughed. They spot Daniel walking into the back door then heading upstairs. He ignored everyone in the room.

"I see nothing has changed with him." Rogue said.

"Nope." John said.

"He's still ignoring us." Azari said.

"Why is he ignoring you guys?" Clay asked.

"Its a long story." David said not wanting to reveal the truth.

"He's been working out a lot. I wonder why." Kitty said.

"I think he's been going to the gym." Azari said.

"What's wrong with that?" Candice asked.

"Nothing, it's just he's coming and going without so much as a word. Our parents are worried about him." Azari said.

"Maybe he just wants to stay in shape." Willie said.

"Maybe but we think there's more going on than we know." Azari said.

"Wait where's Daniel's girlfriend?" John asked.

"Daniel is seeing someone?" Rogue asked surprised.

"Yep." Azari said.

"Who?" Bobby asked.

"What's her name?" Kitty asked.

"Her name is Adreana and I don't think they're together anymore." David said.

"Why?" Kitty asked. Candice and the others with the exception of David knew why.

"Not sure." Clay lied.

"I told Daniel she didn't really want him." David said.

"Why do you think that?" Bobby asked.

"Because she's into different guys. Chances are if she was spending time with Daniel, it was out of pity. I tried to warn him but he didn't listen." David said as the others nodded.

"You don't think he can get girls?" Kitty asked.

"That's not what I mean. He's just different. No girl would want to really date him " David said. Everyone looked at him knowing what he means by this. John and Azari thought it was a messed up thing to say but it had some truth to it. While Kitty, Rogue, John, Azari and David didn't know about the bet, they knew what David said was partly true. Candice and the others knew the truth. Adreana hadn't dated Daniel because she liked him and even that wasn't true. She dated him to prove to her friends that she didn't like Daniel romantically but that was a lie. She truly did find Daniel attractive but because he is considered the local retard, she's fearful of what others will say including her friends if she dated him.

Adreana sat in her room lying on her bed thinking about Daniel. She felt bad for avoiding him. The two weeks they spent together was so much fun and Daniel wasn't as bad as David said he was. He was sweet, charming, kind, gentle and most importantly, he was a gentleman. He didn't try anything dirty with her. He just kissed her. It also helped that Daniel looked really good to her and he didn't stutter as much. He felt comfortable with her as she did with him. So why had she lied to her friends about her feelings for him? The truth was that she was afraid of what people especially her friends would think about her dating the local retard. That wasn't fair to Daniel and she felt guilty about it.

Daniel had gotten dressed in his Lion's Den sweat suit and rode his bike with his duffle bag to the Lion's Den facility. He got changed and began his training. His teammates with the exception of Joey continues to give him a hard time. Daniel said nothing nor did he react. Javier the jujitsu coach came to Daniel's rescue. He told Daniel how he respects his resolve and to continue his training.

When training session was over, Daniel was the first to shower, change and then get on his bike and head home. Watching him ride home on his bike was Azari. He had gotten the address to the Lion's Den facility online and decided to go their and stake it out. He had no idea what he was doing there but decided to watch. Azari waited about three hours before he exited the gym riding his bike him. Azari followed him home.

Daniel pulls his bike up to the front of the house before heading in. John's car pulls into the garage. Both he and Azari get out of the car and head into the through the back door. They see Daniel in the kitchen getting a drink of water.

"So what's the Lion's Den?" Azari asks Daniel who doesn't respond.

"Come on Danny tell us something." John said.

"It's a gym ok." Daniel said annoyed.

"Just a gym?" John asked.

"Yes just a gym!" Daniel said raising his voice.

"Ok then why are you at the gym?" Azari asked.

"Working our like every one else." Daniel said. "Can I go now?" He asked. John and Azari nod. Daniel walks past them heading up to his room.

"Do you believe him?" Azari asked.

"Not a chance but we have no evidence to accuse him of anything." John said.

"Not true. We have the Lion's Den. We can find out exactly what our little bro is truly up to." Azari said smiling.

"You followed him right?" John asked. Azari nodded. "What did the Lion's Den look like?"

"On the outside it looks like a normal gym. I haven't been inside yet." Azari said.

"Ok. We wait and get a look inside at a later date." John said as Azari nods.

To Be Continued


	21. Chapter 21

Daniel (An X-Men Story)

Chapter Twenty-One: Suspicion

The following afternoon, John was assisting Rion and Alex in training the students. He had been thinking about Daniel and his activities. Sure Daniel had told him and Azari that he was training and they brought it but what was he training for? Azari had followed Daniel the Lion's Den facility but didn't go in. John didn't buy that he was training. He knew better. The class was leaving the dojo when one of the kids spots a flyer with the MMA Team Tournmant advertised on it.

"Hey Sentai John." The student called to him.

"What's up?" John asked.

"What's this?" The student said showing John the flyer. John takes the flyer from him.

"Not sure. I'll find out." He said. The student shrugs before leaving the dojo. "Hey uncle Rye."

"Yeah." Rion responds.

"What is the MMA Team Tournament?" John asked.

"Oh that's a flyer for a tournament in town that features sixteen MMA teams competing. It's the first time the UFC has ever attempted this. If it works, they'll begin plans to do this at least once a year." Rion said fixing the punching bag. John thought about Daniel's training. "Why?"

"Just curious. I've never heard of this team tournament thing." John said covering his for his original suspension.

"It's new. You should tryout." Rion said. John shook his head no. "Why? Alex and I taught you everything you know. You'll do well."

"Nah. I don't need that kind of pressure." John said as Rion chuckled.

"You really think this would take off?" John asked referring to the team tournament.

"I think so. Besides, it's already begun. The finals will begin in a couple of tonights." Rion said. John nods. Neither knew how close they are to learning Daniel's secret, though John suspected as much.

Azari had followed Daniel back to the Lion's Den facility. He had suspected that Daniel was training for something but hadn't figured out what that was. Until now. He watched Daniel head into the facility with his duffle bag and head to the locker rooms. He got out of the car and head into the facility. He spotted the secretary and decided to ask her a few questions.

"Excuse me." Azari said to the young lady. She's cute so he decided to put on the Howlett charm.

"Hi there. How can I help you?" The secretary asked.

"I was uh wondering if you could help me with something." Azari said.

"Sure what is it?" She asked.

"This facility, is it a place where anyone can sign up and train?" He asked.

"Why do you train?" She asked smiling at him. Azari smiled back.

"Yes actually I do." Azari said smiling at her. She smiled back. If his girlfriend Tina knew he was flirting she would be pissed off.

"I knew it. You look like you're a fighter." She said.

"Oh baby I can hold my own in the cage. My uncle taught me to fight." Azari said bragging.

"Well under normal circumstances, the facility would be open to the public but right now the facility is closed off to new members due to the MMA Team Tournament competition." The secretary said.

"Oh I see. So which team trains here?" Azari asked.

"Oh that would be the Lions." She said.

"Do you happen to have a flyer with their up coming fight?" He asked.

"Sure. Are you a fan?" She asked.

"Yeah. I'm always looking for good MMA fights to attend. I didn't know about the team tournament until my uncle showed me told me about it. I saw this facility and thought maybe you'd have some info and here I am." He lied smoothly.

"Well you're in luck. We've got plenty of flyers." The secretary said going through her files on the desk. When she was distracted, Azari took the opportunity to look around at the guys doing various training and spots Daniel on the mat working on his submissions with Javier. Azari watched a moment and realized his suspicions had been right. Was Daniel a member of the Lions team? "Here we are." She said as Azari turned his attention back to her.

"Thank you so much." Azari said.

"You're welcome. Be sure to come see the Lions compete. They're good." The secretary said.

"I'll be sure to check'em out." Azari said. "Have a good day." He said before exiting the facility. The secretary waved to him. Azari examines the flyer and saw pictures of the fighters from both teams. He spots Daniel's photo and name and realizes his kid brother is a member of the Lions team. He pulled out his cellphone and called John.

"Hello." John answered.

"You're not gonna guess what I found out." Azari said.

"What?" John asked.

"Daniel lied to us. Get uncle Rion and Alex together. I'm coming home with the news." Azari said hanging up his phone, turning the car engine on before speeding home.

"What did you find out?" John asked as Azari walks into the house.

"He lied." Azari said.

"Who lied?" Alex asked.

"Guys what's going on?" Rion asked.

"This is about Daniel. See he's been going to the facility called the Lion's Den to train. We confronted him about it and he said he was trying to stay in shape." Azari said.

"Wait did you say Lion's Den?" Rion asked.

"Yes." Azari said.

"The Lions is one of the teams competing in the MMA Team Tournament. In fact they're team is still in the tournament." Rion said.

"What's that got to do with Daniel?" Alex asked.

"Because he's a member of that team." Azari revealed showing them the Lions team flyer.

"No fucking way!" John said surprised. "I knew it."

"I knew there was a reason he was training so hard." Alex said.

"So what do we do?" John asked.

"We should tell mom and dad." Azari said. "They're already worried.

"No. I have a better idea. We're going to attend this fight. I wanna see Daniel compete up close and personal." Rion said.

"I really think we should at the very least talk to him about it." Azari said. Rion and Alex looked at each other. "I wanna see him compete as much as you guys but I also want him to know that we're aware of what he's doing."

"Do you think it will make a difference?" John asked.

Probably not but we should still say something." Azari said.

"Alright, you two talk to him when he gets home." Alex said. Both nod.

Daniel and the team were given a break from their training. They'd be competing in the finals tomorrow night. He had gotten a drink of water and decided to use his break to call Adreana. She hadn't spoke to him since blowing him off after their final exams. He wanted to just talk to her. He took out his cellphone and called her number.

"Come on Adreana pick up." He said hoping she'd answer. Instead he got her voicemail. "Hey Adreana it's Daniel. I was just calling to see how you were and hoping we could talk. I guess I'm wondering if things are ok between us. If I did something or said something that made you angry, I'm sorry. Please call me back so we can at least talk. Later." He said before hanging up his cell. He sighed deeply before heading back to his training. He was unaware that his older brothers and uncles knew about him being a Lions team member.

"Hey bros." David said coming into the house after his date with Candice.

"Hey bro. Listen we got some news." John said.

"What kind of news?" David asked.

"It's regarding Daniel." Azari said. David sucked his teeth.

"When is it not about Daniel?" David asked sarcastically. "What's he done this time?"

"You know all the training he's been doing?" John asked.

"Yeah." David said.

"Turns our our brother is a member of an MMA team known as the Lions and has been competing in a tournament." John said. David looked on skeptically.

"Yeah right." David said not believing them. Azari shows the flyer to David. "Holyshit!!! That's Danny." He said staring at the flyer.

"Yes we know." John said.

"All this time. He's been training to compete in this tournament." David said.

"The tournament is called the MMA Team Tournament. It's the first ever event happening in town and if all goes well the UFC will do this once a year." John said.

"How do you know that?" David asked.

"Uncle Rion told me." John said. "Danny's been lying to us. Now he has some explaining to do."

Daniel came through the door and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw his brothers watching him.

"Hey bro." John said. Daniel nods.

"We need to talk to you." Azari said.

"I don't have time for this. Going to bed." Daniel said abruptly and starts for the stairs.

"You know all that training you been doing has paid off." David said. Daniel stops at the bottom of the stair case

"What are you talking about?" Daniel asked.

"How's the tournament going?" John asked. Daniel said nothing in fact he wasn't surprised. He figured they'd find out eventually. "We know everything Danny."

"We know you're a member of the Lions team and you've been competing." Azari said. Daniel sighed.

"Ok so you know my little secret. So what?" Daniel said.

"Why didn't you tell us." David asked.

"I didn't think you guys gave a damn." Daniel said.

"Are you kidding me? This is awesome." David said smiling. Daniel just looked at him frowning.

"We do care Danny." Azari said.

"Who else knows about my activities?" Daniel asked.

"Uncle Alex and Uncle Rion." John said. Daniel nods.

"Guys, I know you don't owe me this but please don't tell mom and dad. At least not yet?" Daniel asked.

"Sure. At some point you're gonna have to tell them." David said.

"I will." Daniel said before heading up to his room.

Candice is sitting on the bed in Adreana's house. She had been dropped off by David an hour ago. The two were talking about everything and anything. Candice went on and on about her relationship with David. Adreana's mind was elsewhere. Candice notices and decides to call her on it

"What's on your mind girl?" Candice asked.

"Nothing." Adreana said looking away. She was secretly staring at a picture of her and Daniel on her phone. It's a picture they took while in the park. She discreetly slides her phone with the picture of her and Daniel under her pillow. "I was just thinking about the finals. I'm wondering if I passed." She lied smoothly.

"I'm sure you passed. You're a smart girl Dreana." Candice said.

"No thanks to you. Appreciate the study session by the way." Adreana said.

"No problem. You my homegirl don't worry about it." Candice said. "Oh guess who has a crush on you?"

"Who?" Adreana asked.

"Dorien." Candice said.

"Oh god." Adreana said as Candice laughed. "I don't want him."

"Still thinking about Daniel?" Candice asked.

"No." Adreana lied.

"Dreana. Come on now. I know you better than that." Candice said.

"So." Adreana said.

"So I know when you're lying." Candice said. "Tell me the truth."

"Ok. I still think about Daniel. He's not like the other guys." Adreana said. "Despite not having true feelings for him, I didn't mean to trick Daniel. I feel bad about that."

"Well you could've turned down the bet." Candice said lying in the bed facing Adreana.

"Yeah but then I'd be admitting to liking Daniel and I wasn't about to admit that." She said as Candice caught that. She knew better and that the fact that Adreana was going so far to hide her true feelings was telling.

"Well look at it this way, no one wanted to get to know Daniel on a personal level. You have and can vouch for him as one of the good guys. Also Daniel could be your friend. If he forgives you that is." Candice said.

"You know he sent me a text message today. He wanted to know what he'd done wrong. Truth is he hadn't done anything wrong. He was so warm, kind, a gentlemen. He ain't bad to look at and he's into martial arts." Adreana said trailing off in her train of thought. Candice watched her and realized that Adreana had liked Daniel from day one only now that she got to know him was falling for him. "But my continued seeing him wouldn't be good for my image. Dating the local retard isn't a look good." She said. Candice frowned at that thought for a moment.

To Be Continued!!!


	22. Chapter 22

Daniel (An X-Men Story)

Chapter Twenty-Two: Truth Hurts

A few days had gone by. Daniel continued his training for the finals in two nights. He was also trying to contact Adreana who continued to ignore him. He even stopped by her house to see if she was home. She was home and spotted him walking towards her house. She decided to stay hidden watching him. He stood there for about twenty minutes then left. Adreana felt bad about how she was avoiding him. She was so afraid of what her friends would think of her dating the local retard and decided to avoid Daniel all together.

Today the teens would take their RCT exams. They'd only take the RCT tests they hadn't taken yet. Daniel hadn't taken any of them and would be taking three of the five. David and friends had already taken three and passed. They needed two more before they'd graduate.

Daniel sat down in the library along with all of the students he spots David, Candice and their friends walk into the library. They sat at another table far from Daniel. He spots Dorien and Adreana walk into the library moments later. He has his arm around her shoulder. Daniel caught that and frowned hard. He'd have to find out why she's been avoiding him.

David and his friends finished their tests in three hours. He told them they could go grab some food at the local cafe seeing as how they hadn't eaten. Daniel heard this and planned to confront Adreana there.

Daniel finished his RCT exams an hour later. He has only been given three to take and figured he'd take his last two RCT exams next year. He picked up his papers and brought it to the librarian who was in charge of distributing the tests. He got in his bike rode as fast as he could to local diner and goes in. He spots David with his friends. Adreana and Dorien were sitting next to each other talking. Daniel frowns and walks over to them. Willie is the first to spot him.

"What up Daniel?" Willie said.

"Hey." Daniel said. "Hey Adreana can we talk please?" Adreana looked up at him and rolled her eyes. The others watched. "Adreana please." Daniel said almost whining.

"Daniel please go away." Adreana said trying to pushing away gently.

"Daniel why don't you just leave?" Dorien asked.

"No. Adreana why are acting like this with me? What did I do to push you away?" Daniel asked. Adreana sighed deeply hoping not to hurt his feeling but she couldn't hold back now.

"Daniel, look, the truth is I never really liked you." Adreana lied smoothly. Daniel's facial expression changed from a mixture of anger and hurt to just pure pain.

"What?" Daniel asked her.

"I never liked you. In fact my friends dared me to date you for two weeks. I did and I won the bet. I had to prove to them that I don't have feelings for you and I did. Truth is I could never see myself dating the local retard." Adreana said completely hurting his feelings.

"A bet. How could you?" Daniel asked her. Adreana said nothing. "I thought you like me? How could you just pretend to like me?"

"It was easy." Adreana said frowning with a hint of remorse. Daniel just stared at her hurt.

"Wait, you bet her to date my brother for two weeks?" David asked angrily.

"Yes but it was just a stupid bet." Dorien said.

"We didn't mean anything by it." Willie said.

"The fuck is wrong with you guys?" He asked angrily.

"Oh shove off David. You probably knew about this." Daniel said angrily. Surprisingly he didn't stutter once.

"He didn't know about the bet Daniel. We kept it from him." Candice said as David looked over at her frowning. "I'm sorry." She said her comments directed at David. He looked away.

"Fuck all of you." Daniel said. He was hurt and she knew it. He looked around the faces of the table. Everyone was quiet including David. He had originally warned Daniel about Adreana but Daniel hadn't listened and now his heart was broken. David felt bad for his brother. Daniel gave Adreana one last look over before turning from her and walking away. He slammed the door to the diner in anger and hurt. Adreana stood there feeling incredibly guilty for how she treated him. They noticed her expression and realized she had lied about her true feelings. She really did like Daniel and was afraid of what they would think of her. She sat back down. She couldn't even finish her food. She had lost her appetite. Dorien looked over at her.

"Dave, we're sorry." Clay said.

"I need to go check on him." David said getting up from the table having finished his meal. Candice touched his hand. He walked away from the table. He paid for his food before leaving. Candice felt bad and guilty as well. She was very much apart of the bet. She'd have to talk to David later on.

Daniel had rode his bike home. He got off his bike and shoved it against the house angrily. He frowns hard beginning to pace. The tears begin to pour down his face. How could she ask him out and lead on to think she liked him when she really didn't? And because of some stupid bet. How could she be so cruel. Daniel hadn't had a real girlfriend and Adreana was the closest thing he had to experiencing what it felt like to have a companion. It had been a lie. She didn't really care about him. This is what a broken heart felt like. He sat down on the porch buried his head in his arms and let the hot tears fall down his face.

David pulls up on his motor bike. He felt bad this twin brother got his heart broken. He had no idea that his friends would create this bet. He was especially disappointed with Adreana because she allowed this to happen. He spots Daniel with his head in his arms. He knew his brother was crying. David may have pushed Daniel away but that didn't mean he wanted to see him hurt.

"Danny, I'm truly sorry." David said sincerely. Daniel lifted his head up.

"Whatever." Daniel said angrily getting up from the porch and heading into the house. David followed.

Logan and Ororo were there. He was getting his car keys about to pick Kendall and the others since they had a short school day as well. They spot Daniel and David come into the house.

"Hey you two." Ororo said.

"Hey ma, pop." David said.

"Hey son. What's with him?" Logan asked.

"The girl he was seeing dumped him." David said.

"What? Why?" Ororo asked.

"Apparently my friends bet her that she couldn't date Daniel for two weeks pretending to like him. I tried to warn him. He wouldn't listen." David said.

"Please you probably knew all about it!" Daniel shouted the hurt in his voice prominent.

"I told you I didn't know about the bet!" David shouted back.

"Oh god Daniel baby I'm sorry." Ororo said trying to comfort him.

"What do you care?" He asked angrily. Ororo frowned hard.

"Daniel I do care." Ororo said sincerely.

"Please! You guys get off on seeing me hurt." Daniel shouted.

"That's not true Daniel." Ororo continued.

"Yes it is." Daniel shouts again.

"You know what Daniel, I'm sick of your attitude. For months you've been walking around here with a chip on your shoulders and we've done nothing except take it. I've tried apologizing to you but you like acting like a prick. Well no more of it. I will not tolerate and longer. From this point on you watch your mouth when talking to us understand!" Ororo said scolding him. Daniel threw his hands up and left the house slamming the door. She sighed deeply.

Unaware of what went down at the house, John had decided to get in a training session with Rion. Rion has taken him through a sparring match in which John showed that he could hold his own in any mma match. Unfortunately he didn't want to compete. Once they were done, both sat on the mat drinking water.

"What's on your mind nephew?" Rion asked sensing training wasn't the only thing John wanted to do.

"What do you mean?" John asked.

"Come on. I've know you since you were a baby. Even changed your stinky diapers." Rion said as John smirked. "I can tell when something is on your mind. Not out with it."

"Well it's Daniel. I've been thinking about this whole tournament thing. I can't wait to see him compete but..." John said trailing off.

"But what?" Rion asked.

"But I'm worried he might get really hurt or severely injured. Maybe dead." John said.

"You don't think Daniel can hold his own in the cage?" Rion asked.

"He's not as normal as you and I and so yeah I worry." John said. "Truth be told I don't think he can hold his own in the cage." He said underestimating Daniel.

"You and your brothers and sister rip on Daniel all the time." Rion said.

"Oh come that's not fair. We're only teasing him playfully." John said.

"Maybe but what's not fair is to underestimate your brother. The fact is the Lion's are heading to the finals. Daniel is apart of that. Chances are that he won at least one of those fights." Rion said.

"Do you believe that?" John asked.

"I have to believe that. If not then means I failed to teach him what I know. Truth is I've been thinking a lot about Daniel. Ever since he stop training with me and Alex, he's been distant. I feel responsible for that because he looked to me for a little guidance and I hadn't been there for him like I have for you and your siblings. Daniel has been excluded. I need to talk to him."

"Can you do me a favor?" John asked.

"Sure what is it?" Rion asked.

"Please don't tell my parents about Daniel's activities yet. At least until we see him in the finals?" John asked.

"Ok But they will find out eventually." Rion said.

"I know. I just wanna see what he's got and when it finally comes out I can either back him up or tell him to quit." John said. Rion shook his head.

"You ready for round two young buck?" Rion asked. John smiled.

"Let's go old man." John said teasingly.

"Oh them is fighting words." Rion said jokingly as the two continued their sparring match.

To Be Continued!!!!!


	23. Chapter 23

Daniel (An X-Men Story)

Chapter Twenty-Unlikely Ally

Daniel headed straight to the Lion's Den after his mother laid into him. He wasn't in the mood for her fake concern for him. The fact that she yelled at him told him as much. He was nursing a broken heart. The last thing he needed was for his mother to lay into him. He didn't even want her to know that he had his heart broken. He needed a distraction. He had forgotten his gym bag but thankfully he had spare in the locker. Daniel got changed and begun his workout. He got on the treadmill and began jogging.

Joey spots Daniel jogging on the treadmill decided to reach out to him. Between he and Daniel, both had been perfect in their fights. He learned some things about Daniel. He learned Daniel is a great fighter. He was a well rounded fighter. Daniel could go toe to toe with anyone of these fighters and win. The kid was amazing. Joey admired him and felt bad for him at the same time. Daniel has a speech impediment and is a bit slow but he isn't stupid by any means. People wouldn't know his disabilities just by looking at him. It wasn't fair that he was treated like shit. He decided to get to know him.

"Hey Danny." Joey said casually.

"Hey." Daniel said while continuing to jog on the treadmill.

"So uh how you been?" Joey asked making conversation.

"Fine." Daniel said.

"That was some match you had. Was very impressed." Joey said as Daniel continued to jog. He didn't say anything. "You're real talented Danny. Don't listen to the jerks on the team." He said. Daniel begins to slow down on the treadmill. He still didn't respond. "Look, I know they give you a hard time. You don't deserve that. Just ignore them and you'll be fine."

"Thanks." Daniel said.

"How about we train together? We could spar." Joey asked smiling.

"Why are you being nice to me?" Daniel asked. "I mean everyone here hates me."

"Well comsider me one less person who hates you. And I'm being nice to you cause I am nice." Joey said. Daniel half smiled. He could use a friend right now.

"Ok." Daniel said as he climbed off the treadmill and made their way over to the octagon.

"I swear I don't know what to do anymore about Daniel." Ororo said.

"Give him some slack ma. He just had his heart broken in pieces." John said defending him. This caught Ororo's attention.

"Give him a break? You and your siblings have been teasing him mercilessly. I try to get him to forgive me and his father. Now you're defending him?" Ororo asked.

"We were only playing with him." John said.

"Playing with him?" Ororo questioned.

"Yeah, you know Danny took it personal." John said.

"You guys called him retard. You know he hates being called retard." Ororo said.

"I know that. We were just having fun with him like brothers do." John said.

"You guys were cruel to him." Ororo said. John sighed feeling guilty for how he treated Daniel.

"Truth be told, ever since he stop speaking to us he's been distant and doing his own thing. It's almost as if he doesn't want anything to do with us." John said.

"Can't blame him. We weren't really there for him." Ororo said. "I think there's more going on than we know."

"I know we give him a hard time but Danny is a good guy. He just wants to fit in." John said.

"How does that happen if he keeps himself away from people?" Ororo asked. John shrugged.

"One thing's for sure, we have to reach him. Somehow." John said.

"The perimeter was searched but the only thing Kurt and Warren found were small canisters filled with blue serum." Professor Xavier said.

"Serum?" Logan questioned. "You think it's the brotherhood?" He asked.

"No. I've been monitoring Magneto's movements but nothing. I'm guessing it's someone else." Professor Xavier said. Logan nods thinking. "Besides, Warren handed it off to Stark."

"Figures." Logan said. "I'm guessing Tony and the his team can test out that serum. Find out what it is."

"I'm sure." Professor Xavier said. He looked at Logan and wondered how things were going. He decided to ask. "How are things between you guys and young Daniel?" He asked. Logan looked at him sighed deeply. "I take it things aren't going well?"

"Nope. Daniel is still keeping his distance from us." Logan said. "I don't know how to reach him."

"You have to start by understanding where he's coming from." Professor Xavier said.

"That's just it. How am I supposed to understand if he doesn't tell me what's going on?" Logan asked.

"Maybe he wants you to figure it out." Professor Xavier said. "I can tell you that I know what's wrong with him."

"Sure that's cause you read his mind." Logan said as Professor Xavier chuckled.

"I didn't have to read his mind. Besides Daniel shut his mind to all the psychics on the property. No what he's going through is obvious." Professor said. Logan looked at him. "Ok it's obvious to me." Logan rolled his eyes.

"What do I do to reach my son?" Logan asked truly wanting to reconnect with Daniel.

"Think about what has happened in the last sixteen months. Think about how you and everyone else has handled him." Professor Xavier said.

"I don't know. I treated him the same as I treat my other children." Logan said.

"Are you sure about that? Daniel isn't like his siblings. On a occasion you've said he's different." Professor said.

"Because he has some disabilities." Logan said.

"You may see it a disability but have you ever considered how Daniel sees himself?" Professor asked. Logan stared at him as if he had a revelation.

"My son just wants to fit in." Logan said to himself.

"Not just that but he also wants to be treated like a normal boy." Professor Xavier said. Logan nods before leaving. He planned to talk with his son now that he realizes why he's been so distant.

Adreana, Candice and Tori are in Adreana's room talking. Candice and Tori did all the talking while Adreana sat by the window thinking. She hadn't heard anything they were saying. She was too busy thinking about the way she treated Daniel. Tori and Candice noticed this and calls her on it.

"Earth to Dreana. You in there?" Tori called to her. Adreana looks over at them. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Adreana said.

"Thinking about Daniel?" Candice asked.

"No. Yes. No. I mean..." Adreana said. She sighed deeply. "I guess I am thinking about him."

"What happened?" Tori asked.

"You remember the bet we made with Dreana?" Candice asked. Tori nods. "Well she succeeded."

"Oh. That explains why you said what you said to Daniel at the diner." Tori said.

"Yep." Candice said.

"I don't wanna talk about him." Adreana said.

"Why?" Tori asked.

"Because I feel guilty ok." Adreana said. She sighed deeply. "I never met to hurt him. He's a sweetheart. Everyone has him all wrong."

"What do you mean?" Candice asked.

"He's not the retard everyone claims he is." Adreana said. "I just never met to hurt him."

"So does this mean you like him?" Tori asked. Adreana looks at them and then looks away. Candice looks on smiling. Something about her silence makes them think their right in the suspicions.

Donovan and the others walk into the sona talking. He had spotted them working on their wrestling earlier. Since when had Joey and Daniel become best friends? He decided to find out.

"Well well, if isn't Joseph and the local retard. What's up?" Donovan asked. He and the other guys all came in wearing only their towels. They sat on the bench away from Joey and Daniel. Daniel immediately tensed up.

"What are you doing charity work?" Walter asked as the group laughed.

"Very funny." Joey said. Daniel said nothing.

"So Daniel why do you stutter?" Billy asked. "Is it some sort of disability?"

"Stuttering is not a disability stupid." Michael said.

"No it is. My cousin had a speech problem and he went on disability." Chris said.

"Yeah right." Walter said as the group continued to laugh.

Donovan stares at Daniel who hadn't even looked at him. He was giving him a dirty look. When Daniel wouldn't acknowledge him, he frowned hard. He continued to stare at him trying to figure him out.

"Nah it's his speech problem. Isn't that right Danny?" Donovan asked. Daniel didn't respond. "What's the matter Danny? Cat got your tongue?" He said as Daniel said nothing. Donovan sat forward. "You think you're hot shit don't you?" He asked nastily. Daniel looked over at him and rolled his eyes. "You don't belong here."

"Come on Donovan back off." Joey said.

"What are you his protector now?" Donovan asked him.

"He's his bitch." Chris said as the others laughed.

"Watch your mouth with me!" Joey said forcefully.

"Or what?" Chris said.

"You wanna find out asshole?" Joey asked.

"Fuck you!" Chris shouted.

"You don't belong here Daniel. You retard. No one on this team wants you here. You got lucky. We can't kick you off this team but I tell you what, you fuck this up for us, I will kick the shit out of you." Donovan said. Daniel stood up facing Donovan staring him down angrily. "What?"

"Back off Donovan." Joey said.

"Shut up!" Donovan yelled. "This pussy wants to go. Let's go right here right now?!" Daniel smirked. It was a very sarcastic smirk. Donovan didn't like that one bit. Daniel knew Donovan was no match for him. Donovan was all talk. Donovan shoves Daniel who hardly flinches. Daniel shoved him back hard into the others which caused a shoving match. Joey got in between Donovan and Daniel. This drew the attention of the coaches and Sam the assistant coach. Javier pulled Daniel and Joey out of the sona while Davis and Lane held back the others.

"What's going on?" Sam asked.

"Nothing. Just a heated conversation." Joey said. Lane helped the other fighters gather themselves. "Look, just cause Tom isn't here doesn't mean you guys get to fight with each other. We're a team and have to act as such or we fail. Do you understand?" Sam said.

"Yes." Donovan said. "Won't happen again coach."

"Good. Now Donovan you and the others go in the sona and calm down. Joey, you and Daniel head to the lounge to cool off." Sam said.

Donovan and the others stayed in the sona while Joey and Daniel headed for the lounge. Both were still in their towels shirtless. Both sweating.

"Hey thanks for having my back in there." Daniel said sitting down in the chair.

"No problem." Joey said getting them both bottles of water. Joey sat next to him at the other table. "He's a dickhead. Don't listen to him. I want you on the team. Hell he's lucky you are on the team. He lost both his fights and he's talking shit. He can't hold a candle to you. You are the best well rounded fighter on this team. Fuck what he says." Daniel smiled. It was the first time anyone had complimented him on his fighting.

"Thanks. You're a pretty good your self." Daniel said bonding with Joey.

"Not as good as you." Joey said.

"Yes you are. We won both our fights. If not for us, we'd already be eliminated." Daniel said.

"Here's to us." Joey said holding up his bottle of water toasting to he and Daniel.

"To us the knockout bros." Daniel said.

"Yeah." Joey said as they clicked their waters bottles together then took sips. Daniel smiled having made a friend. His guard was still up after what went down with him and Adreana. He still wasn't speaking to his brothers, sister, mother and father. Not to mention his aunts and uncles. Things could be looking up for him.

Daniel had arrived home on his bike. He came up the front corridor of the mansion grounds and spots Rion heading off the grounds. He was hoping not to talk to his uncle but knew better.

"Hey Daniel." Rion said.

"Uncle Rion." Daniel said walking towards the Howlett house.

"How's your training going?" Rion asked. Daniel stopped in his tracks. He knew that Rion and Alex knew all about him competing in the tournament.

"Fine." Daniel said.

"Danny listen, we're here for you if you need us. All you have to do is ask." Rion said before walking away. Daniel stood there a moment before he made his way to the house.

John, Kitty, Bobby, Rogue, Jubilee and Peter are in John's room getting ready to watch a movie. Kitty, Rogue and Jubilee brought the drinks while Bobby and Peter brought the chips. John ordered three pizza pies. The three couples gathered around and talking while doing so.

"So the mail came today and I a got letter telling me that rooms are available for next semester." Bobby said.

"Are you going to be live off campus?" Rogue asked.

"Not sure." Bobby said.

"I'm staying my ass right here. I'm working and going to classes. I've been saving so when I start my career I can have my own place. No way am I wasting money on campus." Jubilee said as they laughed.

"I agree." Peter said.

"You would agree with her." Kitty said as they laughed. They see John staring at the movies they were to watch. "Babe, you in there?"

"Huh?" John asked.

"We're talking to you." Rogue said. John still didn't say anything. She threw a potato chip at him.

"Hey!" John said as the group laughed.

"He lives." Rogue jokes.

"What's going on with you?" Peter asked.

"Yeah you were spaced out." Jubilee said.

"Oh I was thinking about my brother." John said.

"Let me guess Daniel?" Jubilee asked.

"Yep." John said.

"What's going on now?" Rogue asked.

"Well Azari and I found out what he's been up to." John said.

"Oh yeah and what's that?" Kitty asked.

"Have you ever heard of MMA Team Tournament?" John asked. To the befuddled looks on their faces, he knew they had no idea what he was talking about. "Ok, judging by your faces you have no idea what I'm talking about. Well I'll tell you. UFC president Dana White came up with the idea to put together an MMA tournament featuring sixteen teams. These teams would compete until there's one left standing. If successful, he would do this once a year."

"Ok so what does this have to do with Daniel?" Peter asked.

"He's a member of one of the teams competing." John said to the surprise faces.

"Holyshit!!!" Jubilee said.

"Are you serious?" Rogue asked.

"Yep. The team is called the Lions." John told them.

"So how is Daniel doing in the tournament?" Bobby asked.

"His team moved on to the finals. I assume he one of his fights." John said.

"Nice!" Bobby said.

"Does Ororo Logan know?" Rogue asked.

"Nope. Daniel doesn't want them to know yet." John said.

"Why?" Kitty asked.

"Maybe he's afraid no one will support him." Rogue said.

"You don't think I'd support him?" John asked.

"Well you, Zari and the others haven't been one of Daniel's biggest supporters." Kitty said.

"It's true. In fact you and the others have sort of been distant towards him." Bobby said.

"Not to mention abusive." Rogue said. John looked at her offended.

"I've never abused my siblings. I might've been a little offensive but never abusive." John said. "Besides, he asked to keep it a secret and we have. Well the only ones that know are David, uncle Rion and uncle Alex. But we're the only ones that know." John said.

"And now we know." Peter said as they laughed.

"You can't tell anyone." John said."Relax we can keep secrets." Bobby said.

"Are you going tell your parents?" Jubilee asked.

"We're not. He will." John said referring to Daniel. "I know I will support him and so will Azari and David. Don't know about mom and dad."

"Who knows, maybe Logan and Ororo support him to. If Daniel is doing something he's passionate about, this could bring the family to support him." Kitty said.

"Maybe. Mom and Dad have always been protective of him cause he's not normal." John said. They frowned.

"Not normal? Babe, he's just as normal as we are." Kitty said as the others nodded.

"You know what I mean. He's got disabilities that sets him apart from us." John said. "Let's just watch the movies. Don't wanna talk about him for the rest of the night." He said as the others nodded. It was quiet in the room. John sat next to Kitty. She knew he was right but also knew how they treated Daniel. For the most part, Daniel is a good kid who just wanted to be accepted. After all didn't everyone want that? They'd see how this all played out.

To Be Continued!!!


	24. Chapter 24

Daniel (An X-Men Story)

Chapter Twenty-Four: Confrontation

Daniel got up early and left the house. He and his teammates were to be at the training facility at nine am. The team is expected to compete in the finals tonight. He was ready. David called Rion and Alex letting them know Daniel had left the house.

"So he's gone?" Alex asked.

"Yes. He left early." David said.

"I think his team has a fight tonight." Rion said.

"Who has a fight tonight?" Logan asked. He came down the stairs.

"Dad, how long were you standing there?" David asked.

"Long enough. Now who has a fight tonight?" Logan asked.

"I could tell you but I'd rather show you." David said.

"Show me what?" Logan asked.

"We need to take a drive." Rion said. Logan was confused.

"You might want to get your car keys." Alex said as he, Rion and David headed outside of the house. Logan grabbed his car keys and followed them out of the house.

Logan's car pulls up to the Lion's Den facility. With him are Alex, Rion and David. All four got out of the car and made their way into the facility.

"So what am I looking at?" Logan asked his patients wearing thin.

"This is the Lion's Den training facility. Daniel has been training here the last few weeks." David said.

"So what?" Logan asked.

"UFC has greenlit an MMA Team Tournament. Sixteen teams face off against each other until there is one winner. Daniel has been competing for the Lions team." Rion explained.

"What?!" Logan asked shocked. "This is what he's been doing all this time?"

"Yeah." Alex said. Just as he said this, he spots Daniel doing some light cardio. "There he is." He said as he, David, Rion and Logan spot Daniel. Logan finally understood what Daniel was doing. He'd have to talk to him.

"We need to talk to him." Logan said about to step past the secretary desk but is stopped by Rion.

"No. We confront him at the house. Besides we have to meet with Tony and the avengers remember?" Rion asked.

"Ok." Logan said but looks back at Daniel once more surprised at the fact that his son was competing on a team much less a tournament. He, David, Alex and Rion all walked out of the Lion's Den facility.

"I'm glad the training was light. I don't understand why we had to do a light training before our fight tonight?" Joey asked.

"It's so we'd be ready for the fight." Daniel said. Joey looked at him confused.

"Is that common knowledge?" Joey asked.

"Yeah. My uncle taught me that." Daniel said.

"Really?" Joey asked. Daniel turned to him laughing.

"No." Daniel said giggling jokingly.

"Jerk." Joey said playfully shoving him as the two continued walking toward the park.

"I think coach just wants us prepared." Daniel said.

"Just who did teach you how to fight?" Joey asked.

"My uncle. He used to compete in the ufc." Daniel said.

"What's his name?" Joey asked.

"Orion Magician Munroe." Daniel said to Joey's shocked expression.

"Hold up. The Magician is your uncle?" Joey asked.

"Yep." Daniel said.

"Holyshit!! No wonder your good." Joey said as Daniel smirked. "The Magician is awesome. He taught you well." Daniel thought about that. He had learned a lot from his uncle. Maybe he should reach out to his uncle. Considering what Rion said to him.

"I'm heading home. See you tonight." Daniel said.

"You got it bro." Joey said shaking Daniel's hand before heading in the opposite direction. Both rode their bikes home and would see each other tonight for the finals.

Ororo has gotten a visit from Tony Stark. No doubt to talk about the serum. He also wanted to see her and catch up. With him are Bruce Banner, Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff. With Ororo are Logan, Rion, Alex, Megan, Emma, Scott, Jean, John, Professor Xavier, Azari and David.

"So we're still working on the serum. The components are all jumbled so we don't know what it was going to be used for." Bruce said.

"We originally thought it was super soldier serum recreated but the elements to make that serum doesn't exist anymore." Tony said.

"So as it stands we don't know what it is why it was created." Steve said.

"Looks that way." Ororo said. She noticed her husband's silence. He looked like he was deep in thought. She decides to call him on it. "Hone, you ok?"

"Huh?" Logan asked.

"You ok?" She asked.

"Yeah. I was just thinking about Daniel." Logan said.

"Speaking g of which, how's he doing?" Tony asked.

"He continues to be distant ignoring us all." Ororo said.

"What's he been up to?" Natasha asked her curiosity getting the better of her.

"That's just it we don't know." Ororo said. Rion, Alex, David, John and Logan all looked at each other. Professor Xavier caught this and he wasn't the only one. Ororo caught it as well.

"Why did you guys look at each other?" Professor Xavier asked.

"Yeah, what's going on?" Ororo asked.

"We know about Daniel's activities." Rion said.

"What do you mean? Ororo asked.

"You know how our son has been going to the gym?" Logan asked.

"Yeah." Ororo said.

"It appears our son has been competing in some mma tournament." Logan said.

"WHAT?!" Ororo asked surprised.

"Since when?" Scott asked.

"Apparently it's been going on for a few weeks now." Logan said.

"Wait. What is this mma tournament?" Natasha asked.

"It's a new event the UFC has put together. Sixteen teams enter the tournament and compete until there is one team left standing. That team wins the championship. If this tournament is successful, they'll do this every year." Rion said.

"And Daniel competes?" Steve asked.

"Yes. He's a member of the Lions." Azari said.

"And his team is in the finals. Which means Daniel had to have won at least one of his fights." Rion said to the shocked expressions on their faces.

"He trains at their facility." David said.

"The Lion's Den?" Ororo asked. They nodded. "That's what he's been doing this whole time?"

"Yep." Logan said.

"I don't like this." Ororo said. The door opens and Daniel walks into the house. He stops upon seeing all the faces in the living room. "Daniel we need to talk."

"Not now mom." Daniel said.

"No right now." She said firmly.

"Ok." Daniel said standing by the door.

"Hey Danny." Tony said addressing him.

"Mr. Stark." Daniel said without looking at him.

"Still mad at me I see." Tony said. Daniel didn't respond.

"What's this about you fighting in some tournament?" Logan asked. Daniel looked over at John, Azari and David. They had given him up. Well technically it was David who spilled the beans but Rion and Alex helped.

"Is that what you've doing all this time?" Ororo asked.

"I guess the cat's out of the bag now." Daniel said. "Yes." He said not bothering to hide it anymore. "I've been competing so what?"

"Why?" Megan asked.

"Because I like it and I'm good at it." Daniel said.

"It's dangerous. You could get hurt." Jean said.

"Well the closes I came to getting hurt was a bruised eye. And I won both my fights." Daniel said defending himself.

"When is your next fight?" Rion asked.

"Tonight. I will be there." Daniel said.

"No you will not." Ororo said firmly.

"Mom." Daniel said sighing.

"Daniel, you could get hurt or worse. I don't want that for you." Ororo said.

"I have to agree with Roh." Emma said.

"I second that." Jean said.

"That goes double for me. Daniel just because you won two fights doesn't mean your team will win." Megan said.

"Should've known you guys wouldn't have confidence in me." Daniel said angrily.

"That's not it Daniel. I worry about you. I don't like you fighting or competing or whatever this is you're doing." Ororo said voicing her concern. For the first time in a long time, Daniel could hear the concern in her voice which only met one thing, she loved him.

"I get that you guys are concerned but I have to do this." Daniel said almost pleading.

"Why?" Ororo asked.

"Because for the first time in my life I'm apart of something. I need to do this. My team wins the finals, we move on to the champion match." Daniel said to them. He could see the looks of worry but knew he found something he's good at and wants this.

"I think he should do it." Tony said. Ororo looked over at Tony. Daniel had a surprised expression on his face. Did his Tony Stark, the same man who banned him from his place defend him? "He helped us defeat Loki and Ultron. I think he can do this." He said coming to his defense.

"I agree." John said. Azari and David nod agreeing with their brother.

"I think he's ready." Alex said. "Besides, he won both his fights. He has to finish this tournament."

"What do you think Logan?" Professor Xavier asked. Logan thought about for a moment. He hadn't seen Daniel compete. Maybe his son needed this.

"I've never seen you so passionate about something. I agree that you should do this." Logan said to Daniel's surprise. Did his father actual have his back?

"Well I'm gonna take a nap before the fight tonight." Daniel said as he headeds upstairs.

Tony waited a few minutes before heading up to Daniel's bedroom. He hadn't seen his nephew in months and wanted to at least check in with him. He knew Daniel was still made with him but decided to check in on him away. He knocked on Daniel's door.

"Who is it?" Daniel asked.

"It's Tony." Tony said.

"Go away!" Daniel said. He wasn't ready to have any conversation of any kind with Tony right now.

Come on Danny, I just wanna talk to you." Tony said.

"Please just leave me alone. It should be easy. You've had plenty of practice." Danny said.

"Ok. When you're ready, I'm here for you nephew. I love you." Tony said before walking away from Daniel's door. He was unaware that Daniel had heard him and was staring at the door as if he had heard him correctly. Had Tony really loved Daniel?

Back downstairs, Tony had rejoined the group. They went from discussing the serum to talking about Daniel.

"That kid of yours is still mad at me." Tony said.

"He can hold a grudge like a son of bitch." Logan said.

"He's a good boy. He's just hurting." Ororo said. Everyone stared at her. She had her back to them.

"Roh, I know you worry about him. Let's face it, Daniel is a big boy and can handle himself." Logan said to her.

"He needs this." Rion said. Ororo nods. She couldn't help but worry about Daniel. It wasn't just because he was her son but he's also not like his siblings. She thought she was protecting him. Turns out Daniel despite being fifteen years old could handle himself. She just had to trust him.

"You're not worried for him?" Ororo asked.

"Of course I am. We all are but he's being competing in this tournament without us knowing. Not to mention the fact that he won his last two fights. He can do this." Rion said.

"It appears we've severely underestimated young Daniel." Professor Xavier said.

"We certainly have." Jean said.

"What happens now?" Emma asked.

"We go to his match. I wanna see him compete." Logan said.

"We're go with you." Rion said. Logan nods.

"Did y'all notice something about him?" Logan asked. They shook their heads. "He didn't stutter." He said proudly. "That speech impediment seems to be gone."

"Could our boy have been working on his speech this entire time?" Ororo asked.

"It would appear so." Logan said smirking proud of Daniel. If he was proud of Daniel now, he couldn't wait to see him compete.

To Be Continued!!!!!


	25. Chapter 25

Daniel (An X-Men Story)

Chapter Twenty-Five: Finals

It's the final two matches of the tournament. The four remaining teams will fight to see which two teams will meet in the championship match. The Lions and Eagles would the first two of four to fight. The winner will move on to the championship match. They'll either face the Dragons or the Trojans.

Daniel and his teammates are in the locker room getting ready. Daniel is sitting in front of his locker wearing his yellow and black Lions team trunks and matching T-shirt wearing his team sneakers. One of the trainers in the back is putting on the tape around Daniel's hand. Donovan and the team with the exception of Joey come over to him.

"Hey retard." Donovan said as Daniel ignored him. "We never wanted you on this team. It was supposed to be Evan not you. You weaseled your way onto this team. You may have won your matches but you still suck. We hate being known as the team with the retard on it. Don't fuck this up for us Daniel." He said turning to leave. "Oh and if you think Joey likes being friends with you, you're mistaken. You're a joke to him. Only here for his amusement. Think about that retard." He said as they walk away from him. Daniel said nothing. The trainer applying his tape felt for him. How could they treat their teammate that way? He didn't know and it wasn't his job to ask. He only worked for the arena. Joey came to him from the bathroom.

"Hey you ready to kick some ass buddy?" Joey asked Daniel. Daniel just looked over at him wondering if what Donovan said had some truth to it. "What? What's wrong?" He asked. Daniel said nothing.

Arriving at the collisium are Logan, Rion and Alex. All three wanted to see Daniel compete. Logan especially wanted to see his son compete. All three were curious to see how well Daniel handled himself in the cage. They'd get to see it up close and personal. Rion brought three tickets before the three head into the arena. They had front seats. They made their way to their seats. Logan is the first to speak.

"Ok Rye, you're familiar with this atmosphere. Which teams fight first?" Logan asked.

"The Lions will face the Eagles. So to answer your question, Daniel's team fights first." Rion said. Alex smirked. He knew Logan was anxious to see Daniel fight. They all were.

Back at the house, Ororo is pacing back and forth. The avengers team members had left earlier. She was worried about her son. She was worried that he'd get hurt or killed in the cage. Daniel had handled himself well in the cage and is by far the best fighter on the team. Yet he was still treated like had a disease. Ororo didn't know how good her son was and spent the better part of his young life trying to protect him from the world out there not realizing her efforts were doing more harm than good. She had no idea how Daniel truly felt but knew that she loved him the same way she loved her other kids. She'd had to wait to see how Daniel faired in his fight.

Since they are the first teams to compete, the Lions and the Eagles were introduced. The fights commenced with Walter leading the way. He faced off against Matt Allistair a wrestler with quality submission skills. He easily submits Walter putting the Eagles ahead by twenty points. Billy faced off against Cody Bannister a kickboxer by trade. Billy and Cody went the distance. Billy got his team close but the decision went to Cody and the Eagles. Steven went toe to toe with Corey Bannister. Corey is Cody's identical twin brother with the difference being that while Cody is a kickboxer by trade, Corey is an excellent striker. Steven did his best to get the points his team needed to tie with the Eagles. He took Corey down four times gaining points but did nothing with the takedowns. Instead, Corey would get back to his feet and continued to dominate the fight with his strikes. Corey won that fight by five points. Chris faced off against Gabriel Dunkin a submission specialist. Gabriel took Chris down and submitted him in the first round. The Eagles expand their lead to fifteen points. Michael Kyle went head to head with Paul Gasteneau. The first round belonged to Michael. With his team within eight points of the Eagles but Paul knocked him out expanding the lead back to fifteen points. Donovan faces off against Chad Perez a well rounded jujitsu specialist. Donovan tried to knock him out but was submitted in the first round. Now the Lions were down by thirty points. Joey would face off against Luis Perez another wrestler. The key for Joey was to keep Luis on his feet. Do that and he wins. So that's what he did. Joey used his striking and kickboxing skills to gain the points need to get close to the Eagles. They went the distance with Joey winning the match. The Lions now trailed the Eagles by ten points. It was Daniel's turn to fight. Logan, Alex and Rion stood on their feet to watch closely at his fight. Daniel entered the cage ready to end this fight and send his team to the championship match. He'll be facing Sean Almonte a boxer by trade.

When the bell sounded, Daniel ran at Sean meeting him in the middle of the cage. Sean did his best to throw punches to Daniel's face but Daniel dodged those punches and threw several of his own. Logan, Alex and Rion cheered him on. Daniel used kicks to take out Sean's leg. He got his team tied as the bell sounded and the first rounded ended. In the second round, Sean did his best to throw punches at Daniel but Daniel immediately lifted Sean off his feet and slammed him into the mat in the cage. The Lions take the lead just from that take down alone. They are ahead by ten points. Daniel mounts Sean and pounds him into oblivion. Sean's face bled from the nose, mouth and his right eye. The ref stopped the fight declaring Daniel the winner.

The Lions cheered because they just became the regional champions. Logan, Alex and Rion all cheered watching Daniel fight. Logan was proud of his son. Daniel watched as his teammates cheered hugging each other and excluding him yet again. This one hurt though cause what Donovan said to him was true. Logan, Alex and Rion watched as the team celebrates without Daniel and feel bad for him.

Tom enters the cage with Sam and the trainers. They all hugged Tom, Sam and the coaches with the exception of Daniel. Daniel put his shirt and his cap on along with his teammates. The fighters were given their trophies eight personal checks of fifty thousand dollars. Tom got a trophy for the facility as well as a check for one hundred grand. Sam and the trainers also got checks for seventy grand a piece. Joey turned back and saw that Daniel was gone. The team was to take a picture together with the trainers, Sam and Tom. Daniel was nowehere to be found. He felt bad.

Daniel took his trophy and check then left heading in the back to the locker rooms. He quickly got changed into his clothes before grabbing his duffle bag to leave the collisium. His bike was out back and decided to grab it and ride home. His face was filled with tears.

"Daniel." A voice called to him. Daniel stopped. He turned to see his father and uncles standing there. Logan, Alex and Rion all walked up to him. "Hey son." He said as Daniel stood there crying. He didn't care that they saw him crying. It wasn't the first time and certainly wouldn't be the last. Logan knew why he was crying. Alex and Rion realized it as well. "I'm so proud of you." Logan said hugging him. Daniel leaned his head on Logan's shoulder. "You ok?" Daniel nods.

"We're proud of you. You really can handle yourself in the cage. We taught you well." Rion said smiling proudly at his nephew. Daniel could see they were being sincere. He gave them a half smile.

"Need a lift home?" Logan asked. Daniel nods. Alex took his bike and put it in the back of Logan's truck. Daniel got in the back Rion sat next to him. Logan drove back home. Rion put his arm around Daniel who wiped his tears away.

They arrived back to the Howlett house with Daniel. Ororo was there with their other kids along with Scott, Jean, Emma and Megan. Ororo was relieved to see him.

"We're home." Logan said.

"Oh thank god." Ororo said running up to hug Daniel who accepted it. She checked his face and noticed there weren't any noticeable bruises. He had a red mark over his left eye but was otherwise unharmed. In fact he was the one that did the punishing.

"How did it go?" Jean asked. Daniel reached into his bag and took out his regional championship trophy. He placed it on the table and then headed up to his room. They watched him wondering what was going on.

"Logan what happened?" Ororo asked.

"His team was losing until he stepped in the cage and kick the ass of the kid in front of him." Logan said proudly.

"You should've seen him go. He kicked the kid in shins trying to take out his leg at the same time knocking him around." Alex said smiling as everyone listened.

"The second round, Danny lifted this kid up and took him down, mounted him and then punched him into oblivion. The referee stopped the fight and Danny had won the fight." His team won the regional championship and will move on the MMA Team Championship Match." Rion said.

"Holy crap? Danny won?" John asked smiling. Logan, Alex and Rion nods smiling.

"Awesome." Lucas said high fiving Jamie and Oliver.

"Cool." David said.

"Cool indeed bro." Azari said as they smiled proud of Daniel.

"So he was able to handle himself in the fight?" Ororo asked.

"Yep. Daniel is definitely capable of holding his own in a fight. It's what followed that worries me." Logan said.

"What do you mean?" Emma asked.

"Well when the fighters realized their team had won, they cheered excluding Daniel from their celebration. Daniel caught this and was hurt. He got his trophy and check before leaving the arena. We caught up to him outside of the back of the arena. His face was filled with tears." Logan said. Everyone felt bad for him.

"You mention a check. What was that for?" David asked.

"I'm guessing the check is part of his award. I'm not sure how much it is. You'll have to ask him." Logan said.

Poor guy." Megan said.

"His teammates are jerks for excluding him in the celebration." Emma said.

"Yeah they are. He was the one who scored the points the team needed to win and he gets treated poorly." Alex said. "I feel for him."

"Me to. I'm also proud of him. Aren't you proud of him Logan?" Rion asked. Logan smiled.

"Yes, Yes I am." Logan said that while smiling something he hadn't done much where Daniel was concerned. Now he could, cause he was proud of Daniel.

To Be Continued!!!!!


	26. Chapter 26

Daniel (An X-Men Story)

Chapter Twenty-Six: Spotlight

The next morning after his team's win, Daniel awoke feeling a bit sore but fine none the less. He was also hurt. His teammates not only showed him how they felt about him but they told him as much. Well Donovan had. Donovan the so called leader of the team had spoke for the team which includes Joey. He was disappointed. He wondered if Joey's friendship to him was real. Had he been Joey's entertainment all along? His suspicions were confirmed when Joey celebrated with Donovan and the others leaving Daniel alone. This hurt him. It was bad enough that his family had treated him like they were ashamed of him, the only girl he's ever liked dumped him because of some stupid bet, the team he's on treats him like an outcast and the only guy he thought was his friends turns out to be just like everyone else.

Now that his team were regional champs, they'd be facing the Dragons for the championship. He'd have to go to the facility this morning to get in a training session. Daniel sat up on his bed wondering if he should even go to the facility but was going anyway. He needs to prepare for the last fight of this tournament. He glanced at the the trophy and then turned away.

Daniel got dressed after a quick shower and headed downstairs he has his dufflebag with him. He grabbed a juice out of the fridge and drank it fast. He wasn't hungry. Ororo watched him a moment remembering what was told to her last night. Daniel's teammates celebrated a win without him. She truly felt for her son.

"Hey." Ororo said to him coming down the stairs entering the kitchen.

"Hey." Daniel said.

"You ok?" Ororo asked.

"I'm fine." Daniel said.

"Last night when you came home you had tears in your eyes. I wondered if you were ok." Ororo said.

"I'm fine mom." Daniel said grabbing his bag.

"You heading back to the gym?" She asked.

"Yep."

"Don't you think you could at least take a day off?" Ororo asked.

"Nah I have to prepare for the championship match." Daniel said. "Later." He said leaving the house. Ororo waved. It was the first time Daniel had said anything while leaving the house. Ororo worries for him but knew her son was doing something he liked. Much like Azari playing football or David playing baseball. This was Daniel's thing.

"He still upset?" Logan asked coming into the kitchen. He had been in the garage all morning working on the car.

"Not upset just focused. I thought he'd at least take a day off but nothing doing." Ororo said. "Do you think we're making a mistake letting him compete in this tournament?"

"I thought so at first but then I saw him compete. Our boy can hold his own in that cage. He knows what he's doing. Rye and Alex taught him well. He needs this." Logan said. Ororo looked away for a moment. "You know how Azari plays football and David plays baseball?" He asked as Ororo nods. "This is Daniel's thing." Ororo nods. Logan goes over to her and wraps his arms around Ororo's waist. Something he hadn't done in a while. Ororo leans into her husband. "Don't worry, he'll be fine."

"I know." Ororo said letting her husband comfort her.

A van pulls up to the curb of the Lion's Den facility. Out stepped two men in khaki pants and ESPN shirts. It was safe to assume these two men were correspondents of ESPN. Two other men joined them from the van. They ware the camera men. All four men make their way into the facility. Tom and Sam greet them.

"Gentlemen can I help you?" Tom asked.

"Yes. Hi my name is Chuck Jones. This is Ted Riley. We're correspondents for ESPN." Chuck Jones said extending his hand. Tom and Sam both shook their hands while smiling.

"We're here to interview you guys and the fighters." Ted said.

"Of course. Please come in." Tom said.

"Is there a place our camera men can set up?" Chuck asked.

"Sure. You can set up in the break room for interviews and the camera man can get footage of the guys training. How's that sound?" Sam said.

"That's perfect." Ted said.

"Let me show you around." Sam said as he began the tour of the facility. The fighters were excited to have ESPN interviewing them. Daniel watched them set up two chairs, a camera and along with wires to act as the place to interview the fighters including the coaches. The second camera man would walk around to watch the fighters train.

Everyone on the team with the exception of Daniel were interviewed. All talked about the excitement of being the first teams to compete in the first ever MMA Team Tournament. The second cameraman got good footage of the fighters training. Joey noticed how the ESPN correspondents were treating Daniel and didn't like it. He figured their ignoring him had to do with Donovan and the other fighters.

Walking into the facility is Adreana. She overheard David and Candice talking about Daniel and discovered what he's been up to. She wanted to see what all the fuss was about so she looked up the address and made her way there. She noticed the cameramen walking around getting video of the fighters. The correspondents were talking to the coaches and trainers. She stood back and watched the fighters looking for Daniel. She finds him and secretly watches him training. He isn't wearing a shirt and is in his spandex underwear. Adreana had not seen this side of Daniel and it was turning her on. She watched as Daniel worked his chiseled chest, strong arms and powerful legs during his training. It was a sight. Though Daniel looked good to her, she had hurt his feeling pretending to like him only to win some stupid bet. Only she truly did like Daniel. She was starting to lust over him. She's never seen him so muscular. She's kicking herself for hurting him. Why did she care about what her friends thought about her dating Daniel? She was afraid they'd make fun of her but not being with Daniel was torture for her. She was fighting her self. She wanted to make things right. Now was not the right time. She'd wait until the right moment. She turned and left.

To Be Continued!!!!!


	27. Chapter 27

Daniel (An X-Men Story)

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Right From Wrong

Another day of mma training. The team is preparing thoroughly for their opponents. The guys are sitting in the lounge looking at footage of their opponents. Tom figure this would give them a chance to strategize against their opponent. He begins to address the team.

"The first part of your training will be focused on watching video of your opponents so you'll know how to beat them. I have no doubt in my mind that they are doing the same thing. We will also address where you guys are lacking in your fights. You'll need to be at your best to win the championship." Tom said.

"Coach we got this." Walter said confidently.

"Yeah. I mean we won every fight." Donovan said.

"No you didn't!!" Tom yelled. Everyone was quiet. "There's only two people who won their fights and that's Joey and Daniel. You guys have had to rely on those two in order to win and that can't happen. The entire team needs to step up." He said. Donovan frowned at the thought of Daniel having won all his matches. He knew Daniel was a better fighter than he was but wouldn't bring himself to admit it. "Now, the purpose of us showing you guys these videos is so you get to meet your opponents. Walt, as always you have the first match up. You will be facing Lincoln Barnes. He is a wrestler and he is excellent when it comes to submissions. While your wrestling skills are decent, we're teaching you at least two submissions. You're gonna be working learning how to recognize when your opponents are trying to apply submissions, guard against them and use your own." Walter nods while staring at the video of his opponent. "Billy, your opponent is Martin Tillman, a kickboxer by trade and he's a great Muay Thai fighter. This fight is right in your wheel house. You're an excellent striker so we'll use that to your advantage. You two are more likely to stand and trade punches. He may go for your legs using his kicks. When he does, use your striking and knock his ass out." He said as Billy nods. "Steve, meet Dale Milton a grappler and wrestler. Again a fight that favors us because you're take down power is great. You swarm your opponents and love the ground and pound. This is how you win. Be careful of the submission cause he's capable of it." Tom said.

"So am I coach." Steve said as Walter high fives him.

"We shall see. Chris, meet Kevin Glandville. Kevin is an expert in Tae Kwon Do and Muay Thai so this kid loves to use his legs. Take his legs from him and the match is yours." Chris nods.

"Got it coach." Chris said.

"Mike, this is Leo Tomilson, a boxer and kickerboxer. The way to win your fight against him is to get him to the ground and submit him." Sam said.

"Will do." Michael said.

"Donny, you will face Sam Brumberg. Don't let his name and looks fool you. He's a wrestler and a grappler. To beat this guy you'll have to keep him on his feet." Sam said.

"He's as good as dead." Donovan said.

"Joey, your opponent is Stanly Hart a jujitsu specialist. Keep him on his feet and you got him." Tom said. Joey nods. "Last but not least, Daniel. You have the toughest fight of them all. You will face Marco Sanchez. Marco is an excellent striker and a pretty good kickboxer." Tom said.

"He relies heavily on his striking and if he gets you up against the cage will swarm you with his punches. It's virtually impossible to get away from him. However, Daniel to beat him, you're going to have to go for a surprise takedown and submit him cause his ground game is weak." Sam said. Daniel nods.

"You got that retard?" Donovan asked nastily.

"Shut up." Tom said. Donovan stopped speaking. "The trainers will be training you guys to beat the Dragons so, let's get to it." He said as the fighters got up and headed out of the lounge. They began to prepare for their final match ups of the tournament.

David, Clay and Willie enter the local diner to meet Candice, Adreana and Tori there. Sitting there with them is Dorien. He was sitting very close to Adreana. He's always talked about wanting to date Adreana but never thought he'd try and right after she broke up with his brother. Adreana didn't look like she was having fun. David makes his way over to the group.

"Hey ladies." David said frowning.

"Hey honey." Candice said going over to give David a kiss. David returns the gesture. Hey you two." Candice addresses Willie and Clay.

"Hey." They greet in unison.

"What's going on?" David asked.

"Nothing just enjoying a meal." Dorien said a little annoyed. He had intended on spending the meal trying to woo Adreana but she clearly wasn't into him. "That is until Tori and Candice ruined it. Now you three are here." He said sarcastically.

"Oh please! You're mad because we caught you trying push up on Dreana here. And by the way she clearly isn't into you." Candice said as Tori laughed.

"Shut up Candice." Dorien said angrily.

"The fuck you say to her?" David asked angrily. There has been a little tension between Dorien and David since he found out that it was Dorien who started the bet with Adreana.

"I told her to shut up." Dorien said. David went over to him. Dorien stood up.

"Don't fucking talk to my lady like that." David said angrily.

"You know if your brother wasn't such a fucking retard, maybe Adreana wouldn't have made that bet and would be with him and not me." Dorien said.

"Watch your fucking mouth. Piece of shit. Don't talk about my brother." David said.

"I'm not here with you Dorien." Adreana said. Dorien drilled his eyes. Candice, Tori, Willie and Clay laughed.

"Like I said, she don't want you." Candice said.

"Yo put a leash on your bitch." Dorien said. That was all it took before David to knocked Dorien on his ass. David got on top of Dorien and began punching him in the face. Dorien tried to cover up but was being hit from all sides. David was angry.

"STOP IT! DAVID STOP!!!" Candice yelled as Clay and Willie pulled him off of Dorien. Two of the waiters came by to help separate the two. "LET'S GO!!" She yelled pushing David out of the diner. Tori who has a hold of Adreana's arm pulled her along. Willie and Clay are with them.

"Get off me." Dorien said yanking away from the waiters. He stood there with his face a bloody mess.

Outside, Candice and the others are walking away from the diner.

"What the hell was that David?!" She asked.

"He's a piece of shit. I don't like him talk about my brother and you in that manner. I don't give a shit what he says, he has no right to do that!" David yelled back angrily.

"You didn't have to hit him. He's your friend." Candice said.

"If he's any kind of friend he wouldn't speak to you in that manner and he certainly wouldn't have brought up my brother." David said.

"Dave that wasn't the best way to handle this." Adreana said.

"I can't believe you're defending him." David said.

"I'm not. It's just that we've all been friends for a long time. We can handle our problems better than that." Adreana said.

"Like how you bet you could date my brother for two weeks and then dumped him?" David asked her. Adreana looked away sadly. "Tell me something Dreana, no bullshit, how do you really feel about my brother?" He asked. She thought about that for a moment. She knew she cared for Daniel but what are her true feelings. They waited for her response. "Do you like him yes or no Dreana?!" David asked impatiently.

"YES!" Adreana blurted our. "I like him ok. It's more than that. I...I'm in love with him ok?!" She said. They were quiet for a moment.

"Damn Dreana. You got it bad for Dannyboy?" Clay asked her teasingly.

"Why have you denied your feelings?" Candice asked.

"Danny's a nice guy." Tori said.

"Yes he is. I was afraid I would be made fun of because he's different but I don't care anymore. I...I can't stop thinking about him. I feel bad that I hurt his feelings." Adreana said confessing her feelings and not giving a damn if her friends knew. "I saw him yesterday." Her friends watched her a moment. "He was training at that facility."

"Lions Den." David said. She nods.

"He's good. I watched him for what seemed like a long time. There were cameras everywhere. I think the fighters were being interviewed or something. I stayed hidden and watched him. I just wanted to talk to him then but it wasn't the right time." Adreana said.

"Ok we'll come over to my house tonight. You can talk to him then." David said.

"I don't know." Adreana said unsure.

"I'll go with you." Candice said.

"No I mean what if Daniel doesn't want to talk to me?" Adreana asked.

"I'll talk to him first. Don't worry about it. Just come over." David said.

"We'll all come over." Willie said.

"Ok." Adreana said.

"Good now I need to get my hand cleaned." David said.

"You shouldn't have hit him." Candice said as the group made their way to the drug store. There David got his hand bandages by the pharmacist. He begged the pharmacist not to say anything to his mother. The pharmacist agreed.

Back at the Howlett house, Azari is in the kitchen while his friends are sitting on the couch. His friends Max, Todd and Eddy. The four are popular at their school due to the fact that they are football players. Azari by far is the most popular player but doesn't let that go to his head. The three are watching tv while Azari got the snacks. They'd be leaving for football camp in a week. They wanted to spend as much time with their families as possible. Today however was what Azari liked to call a chill day.

"So how are things between you and Tina?" Todd asked.

"Good. She's doing the cheerleading thing and we'll be at football camp." Azari said.

"Is she ok with you going away for a month?" Eddy asked as Azari hands him, Todd and Max soda.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't she be?" Azari asked sitting back down with a bowl of popcorn.

"Well you know how girls are. They don't like to be away from their boyfriends for too long." Todd said.

"No what he means is she thinks you might be out trying to bang other chicks." Eddy said as they laughed.

"Nah it's not like that. Besides you've seen my girl." Azari said.

"She's smokin dude." Max said.

"Yeah she is." Todd said.

"Besides, I'm not the type to search for other girls when I have one already. I'm like my dad in that way." Azari said.

"Yeah but you're dad isn't like you're real father." Max said. Azari turns to him frowning a bit. "I mean Mr. Howlett is not like your biological father."

"I know. He raised me so he is my father. My biological father lives in another country." Azari said somberly.

"Have you ever met him?" Todd asked.

"No. I don't want to. He gave up on me so fuck him. James Howlett is my father." Azari said.

"Dude I thought you're dad's first name is Logan?" Max asked.

"It is. James Logan Howlett. That's his full name. He just uses Logan cause it's tougher." Azari said.

"Speaking of your family, where is that gorgeous mother if yours?" Eddy asked.

"She's out with my sister and aunts." Azari said.

"Yo dude not to be a perve but your mother is hot. For a woman who's had eight children she is amazing." Max said.

"Yeah thanks. I'll tell you said that." Azari said.

"I'll tell her myself." Max said.

"Dude." Todd said.

"I swear if I was Mr. Howlett I'd tear up every night." Max said laughing.

"Stop talking about her like that! She's my mother! Show some fuckin respect." Azari angrily.

"Sorry dude. I was just saying she's hot." Max said then quieting down. No man ever likes another man talking about his mother.

"What's up with Dave and his little lady?" Eddy asked.

"They going good." Azari said.

"He hit that yet?" Todd asked. Azari smirked. The guys laughed. "He's a stud."

"Just like his brothers and father." Azari said.

"I heard that Danny was dating a cutie." Max said.

"Yeah he was but she dumped him." Azari said. "Her name was Adreana and she is hot."

"How did he blow that?" Max asked.

"Why do you assume it was his fault she dumped him?" Eddy asked.

"Because he's...well you know." Max said making sure to choose his words carefully.

"Say it. Retarded." Azari said angrily. "He's not retarded. He actually hates that word. Besides, she asked him out only later learning that it was on bet. He didn't mess up anything, she did."

"Z why are you defending him?" Max asked.

""What do you mean?" Azari asked.

"You always push him away and you've been known to tease him." Eddy said.

"Well yeah he's my brother I can do that. I still love him." Azari said defending his actions.

"Do you?" Todd questioned.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Azari asked getting angered.

"It means that you hardly spend time with him and you talk down to him as if he's stupid or something." Max said. "We've seen it."

"That doesn't mean I don't love my brother." Azari continued.

"Ok but you're ashamed of him aren't you?" Eddy asked.

"I'm not ashamed of my brother. Got it?!" Azari yelled.

"Ok." Eddy said.

"Sure dude." Todd said.

"Whatever you say bro." Max said.

"Let's just watch the movie." Azari said offended by what his friends said. If he was being honest with himself he'd find that what they said had some truth to it. He treated Daniel differently because of his shame for his brother. He treated his sister and other brothers better than he had Daniel and knew it. He thought about what they said and felt bad. He really doesn't hate Daniel. He was just ashamed of his mentally retarded brother.

At the Lion's Den facility, the fighters and coaches had gone home for the evening. Tom and Sam were still there doing some paperwork. Sam was thinking about the team. Tom could tell and decided to ask him about it.

"What's on your mind?" Tom asked.

"These match ups. Do you think they can win their fights?" Sam asked.

"If they follow the play for their fights yes." Tom said sitting down.

"Be honest, who do you think is our best fighter?" Sam asked. Tom thought about that for a moment.

"It's Daniel. He wasn't supposed to be on the team and thanks to Evan he is. He's won every one of his fights. If we had Evan on the team we would've lost. Daniel is by far the most skilled fighter on the team. The kid can stand and bang, he's got great ground and pound techniques and can submit his opponent from anywhere. He's the key the championship." Tom admitted.

"Do you think he stands a chance against Marco?" Sam asked.

"Yes." Tom said. "Like I said, Danny boy is the key to our team's victory."

"You know what the fighters call him?" Sam asked. Tom looked over at him. "The local retard. They've isolated him. Kept him away from them."

"I know. They've done everything they can to keep from being associated with him but this team will win. When we win, they won't have to see him anymore." Tom said heartlessly. Sam frowned a bit. He knew Tom didn't care about Daniel. He was using Daniel to win the fight. "Go home get some rest." Tom said turning to focus on the computer screen. Sam stood there a second before turning and leaving with his bag.

Daniel walks into the house through the back door after coming from the Lion's Den facility. Sitting at the counter in the kitchen is David. He's nursing his hand which houses two broken knuckles. Lucky for him school was over.

"Hey." David said.

"Hey." Daniel said.

"How was practice?" David asked making conversation.

"Good." Daniel said. "What happened?" He asked pointing to David's hand.

"I uh punched Dorien in the face." David said. Daniel raised an eyebrow. David chuckled. "Yeah he said some things about Candice and you and I put him on his ass." He said as Daniel smirked. He was shocked. Shocked that his brother would defend his name. Here he thought his brother hated him. "He was coming onto Adreana."

"So. She broke up with me remember?" Daniel asked. "Besides She's free to see anyone she wants." He said.

"That's just it. She wants you bro." David said. Daniel stopped at the staircase.

"No she doesn't. She made that clear to me." Daniel said.

"She said so it herself. In fact she confessed it. We all knew how she felt about you. She was too scared to admit it but Danny she likes you a lot." David said.

"Whatever." Daniel said not convinced.

"She wants to talk to you." David said.

"I don't wanna see her." Daniel said firmly.

"Well that's too bad because she's coming by." David said.

"What?" Daniel asked. As if on cue the door bell rings. David goes to answer it. "Hey baby." He said kissing Candice.

"Hey." Candice said entering the house. "Hey Daniel." She greets him.

"Hey." Daniel said.

"Look who I brought with me." Candice said moving to the side to let Daniel see who enters the house. It's Adreana. Daniel's jaw tightened. Adreana caught this.

"Hi Danny." Adreana greeted.

"Adreana." He greets her.

"Where's Willie and the others?" David asked.

"Tori is babysitting. Hank joined her. Willie and Clay went out with their dads." Candice said as David nods.

"Can we talk?" Adreana asked. Daniel was skeptical. "Please?" She asked. Daniel put his bag down on the floor by the stair case. He points to the back porch. He walks her to the back and holds the door open for her. The two go outside and sit at the patio table. Neither said anything for a while. Daniel is the first to speak.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Daniel asked.

"I wanted to apologize for what I said and how I treated you." Adreana said.

"Apology accepted. You can go now." Daniel said about to head back in the house.

"Daniel wait please let me explain." Adreana said standing up with him.

"Why did you ask me out? Was it because of the bet?" Daniel asked her.

"No. Truth is I've liked you since the first day I laid eyes on you." She said but Daniel didn't believe her. "It's true. I didn't have the guts to ask you out before that."

"Because you were afraid of what others might think you dating the local retard?" Daniel asked her. She nods feeling ashamed of her behavior. Daniel could tell she felt bad. He sighed. "Look, Adreana I know how people feel about me and I know how I'm viewed. I'd be lying if I told you it doesn't bother me but it does. When you asked me out I felt good. I felt normal for once." Daniel said as Adreana listened. "I couldn't believe this beautiful girl wanted anything to do with me. It felt awesome. We were going good until two weeks later when you said those things to me. It hurt deeply."

"I'm so sorry Daniel." Adreana said moving closer to him.

"I know. I forgive you." Daniel said to her.

"It's not just your forgiveness I want. I want you back." Adreana confessed. Daniel was surprised. "I should've never dumped you. I lied about my feelings for you. I do like you a lot and I don't care who knows."

"Adreana you don't have to..." Daniel starts to say before Adreana kisses him. Daniel pulls away slowly. He could tell she was being sincere with her feelings. If she truly didn't want him, she wouldn't be there with him.

"Take me back." Adreana asked. Daniel leans in and kisses her deeply. Adreana returns the gesture. Her held her tight. Neither realizes they were being watched. As some very sultry kissing, both pulled away for air. "Does this mean you'll take me back?"

"Yes." Daniel said as the two kissed again.

"So, you're a Lion huh?" Adreana asked him.

"What?" Daniel asked her smirking.

"The MMA Team you're apart of." Adreana said.

"How did you know about that?" Daniel asked her.

"I overheard David telling Candice about the competition and that you're apart of one the teams. I looked up the facility's address and found you there. You were training in your underwear." Adreana said smirking Daniel smirked. "What were the cameras for?"

"Oh ESPN came to cover the team. My team will be competing for the first ever MMA Team Championship. So I gotta be ready." Daniel said.

"So no sex yet?" She asked catching Daniel off guard. He didn't know how to respond. Adreana chuckled.

"No not yet. I mean I want to but I want to make sure you're ready and when the tournement is over." Daniel said as Adreana continued laughing. Daniel smirked.

"Don't worry. We can wait." Adreana said leaning her head on his. "I gotta say you looked so good training without your shirt on. All muscular and buff." She said looking him over. Daniel caught this and smirked.

"You thought I looked good?" Daniel asked her.

"Oh yeah." Adreana said chuckling asthe two kissed deeply.

The two together for another few moments before going back into the house. Daniel showed Adreana around before they sat and joined David and Candice on the couch. He put his arm around her shoulder as she leaned into him. Adreana even got to meet Logan. Of course Logan jokes around a bit before heading to Rion's house to give the kids some alone time. He was happy for Daniel and hoped things would get better for him from this point in. Things were starting look up for Daniel. Adreana really did like him and he felt good about that. The fact that she wanted to have sex with him felt even better but had to wait. At least until the competition was over. Daniel had a ways to go before he could truly feel comfortable around his family and forgive them for how they treated him. But maybe just maybe this was a step in the right direction. After all if he could forgive Adreana then why not his family? Only time would tell.

To Be Continued!!!!!


	28. Chapter 28

Daniel (An X-Men Story)

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Training Alone

As the team continues to prepare for the final match up of the tournament, the fighters all continue to isolate Daniel. Daniel would only train with the trainers. Joey watched him but said nothing. He wondered why Daniel had pushed him away.

Tom watched from afar. He knew it was wrong how the other fighters were treating Daniel and felt a bad about it but he didn't want Daniel on the team to begin with. He didn't want to be associated with the local retard of the team. But Daniel had won all of his fights and was defying the odds stacked against him. Tom was impressed with the kid but he still didn't want to be associated with someone like Daniel.

Rion made his way into the facility. He stopped at the seats and sat down. He wanted to watch Daniel's training process. After having seen his nephew compete in the tournament, Rion was impressed. He realized that he was wrong about Daniel being ready to teach a class let alone earn his black belt. He was good enough. He had held him back all this time and Daniel proved that he's capable of handling g himself. He watched noticing how the fighters were working together as teammates and Daniel was working out alone on the punching bag. It dawned on him just what Daniel has been feeling all this time. Something everyone has been suspicious about all along. Daniel felt alone. Not just in his training but in his life. He had felt like a stranger in his own family and no one should be made to feel this way. He truly felt guilty having contributed to how his nephew has been feeling. He vowed from this point on to be there for him.

At the park, David and Candice are enjoying the day. The two had walked to the diner to grab a bite before heading to the park enjoying each other's company. The two sat down at the bench and begin to unwrap their food while talking.

"How's your hand babe?" Candice asked.

"Feeling a little better." David said taking a bite of his sandwich.

"Dorien called me." Candice said as David looked over at her. She took a small bite of her sandwich.

"Why?" David asked.

"He wanted to apologize." Candice said.

"What did he say?" David asked her.

"He said he was sorry and that he deserved to get punched. That he really likes Adreana." She said. David sucked his teeth. "I told him that she and Daniel are back together. He didn't like that but promised to back off." Candice finished.

"He better." David said threateningly.

"Dave." She said almost scolding him. "He's your friend." Candice said.

"Was." David said. He went back to eating his food.

"I'm sorry." She said to him. David looked at her a little surprised.

"Why?" He asked.

"I encouraged Adreana to prove she had no feelings for Daniel. Truth be told, I know she had feelings for Daniel and was too afraid of what we would think of her dating him" Candice confessed. David shook his head.

"I don't blame you. Dorien started this whole thing. He's to blame. I still blame Adreana for taking the bet but it's history."

"Does that mean you'll be friends with Dorien again?" Candice asked.

"Maybe. I don't like him talking bad about you or my brother." David said. Candice smiled at the fact that she has a boyfriend who was willing to protect her.

"How do you feel about Adreana dating Daniel?" Candice asked. David smirks.

"I think it's cool. Didn't think he had it in him. He seems to be proving me and everyone wrong about him." David said. He was quiet for a moment. David said nothing but looked away. She could tell there was more on his mind than meets the eye.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"I been thinking about Daniel. When we were little, I use to be the one that got all the attention while Daniel would be alone in the corner playing with his toys. It was like that in school. I remember my parents putting Daniel in a special when we were in pre-k because he was a bit slower than other kids." David said.

"You're parents wanted to protect him. Make sure he is able to learn in an environment conducive to his condition." Candice said. David nods. "I can understand that."

"He was doing fine and I was ok with him until he wanted to go to the same school as me. I didn't want him at our school. I told him so." David admitted.

"Why?" Candice asked.

"I was ashamed of him. I didn't want my retarded brother going to the same school as me." David said feeling guilty about this. Candice watched him. She knew he cared about Daniel and could see how broken up he is about this. she knew he felt guilty for how he's treated Daniel. "I didn't think he could hold his own and was hoping he'd fail so mom and dad could send him back to his old school. If they did he and Adreana couldn't be together and would've never met." David said.

"Daniel is a remarkable guy." Candice said. David nods.

"Yeah he is. He came to our school and kept up with the assignments doing them all by himself, getting A's and B's. Passing the exams and the RCTs. Having the where with all to train and compete in this tournament. He's defying the odds set against him from the time we were born. It's unreal." David said. "For awhile he wasn't speaking to any one in the house. He kept his distance. He made the silent treatment into an art form." He said chuckling. Candice smirked. "He was mad with us."

"Or hurt." Candice said. David looked at her. "You did treat him bad baby. I honestly think that he just wanted to be closer to you. You guys are twins and that's a cool thing. Maybe he hadn't felt close to you in a long time and going to the same school as you would bring you guys closer. Instead, you pushed him away."

"I did. I feel like shit. I hadn't thought of it that way." David said. "Do you think I'm a bad guy?"

"No not at all." Candice said rubbing his hand.

"We've been talking lately. I think he's slowly forgiving us." David said.

"Well you have to make amends with him. Make him understand that you love him and that you have his back." Candice said.

"Yeah. You're right. I will." David said perking up. He went back to eating his food. He loved talking to his girlfriend. She is one of the coolest girls he's ever met and feels lucky to be dating her. What she said made sense but also what stood out more to David was the fact that Candice hadn't once made fun of Daniel. She saw him differenly. She saw him as a human being and treated him as such. What's more is that Ororo loves her so he felt really good about dating her.

Back at the facility, the fighters are taking a break from their training. Daniel is drinking water in the break room in the far corner away from the other fighters. Joey sees him and goes over to him.

"Hey Danny." Joey said. Daniel turns to him and frowns. "I don't get you. Since we won the regional championship, you've been distant from me. I don't know why." Joey said to him. Daniel didn't respond. "Why won't you talk to me?"

"Ask Donovan." Daniel said walking away from Joey leaving him confused. He looked over at Donovan frowning. Donovan looked over and turned his head. Joey went over to him.

"What did you say to Daniel?" Joey asked.

"What are you talking about?" Donovan asked playing stupid.

"You said something to Daniel and he's been distant ever since the regionals. What did you say?" Joey asked.

"Look I told him the truth. That he's here for your amusement" Donovan said.

"Are you fuckin crazy?!" Joey asked grabbing Donovan by his collar. Donovan pushes his hand away.

"I just told him the truth. Come on you can't honestly think of him as a friend." Donovan asked.

"You're such a fucktard." Joey said walking away from him. He goes over to Daniel. "Hey Danny. Listen, I'm sorry about what Donovan said. He was wrong. You are my friend.."

"Sure." Daniel said not really believing him.

"Guys have a seat." Tom said caming into the lounge with the coaches and Sam. the Guys father together with the exception of Joey and Daniel. "Tomorrow night, you eight will be one if the first teams to ever compete in this tournament. No matter what happens, I want tou guys to know that I'm proud of all of you. Fight hard, fight smart, stick to your game plans and you should win." Tom said as the guys cheered. "So right now, I'm letting you guys go home early cause you need your rest. We'll see you guys here tomorrow at five pm." He said as the guys all headed to the locker room to change. Daniel was the first to dress and leave the facility. Joey felt bad and angered at the same time. How could Daniel think he wasnt his friend? He figured Daniel didnt have many friends so he didn't know a real one from a fake one. He knew he wanted to be Daniel's friend and would figure out a way to be friends with him.

Daniel arrived on the mansion grounds and is about to head in the direction if his house when he hears a voice call to him. He turned around to see Rion standing there.

"Daniel." Rion called to him.

"Hey." Daniel said. "Whats up?"

"I watched you train. You looked like a professional out there." Rion said.

"Thanks." Daniel said. "Good night." He was about to leave.

"Good night? Its not even six o'clock yet." Rion said.

"I know." Daniel said as he starts to move towards the Howlett House.

"Danny wait." Rion said.

"Uncle Rion I just got back from training and my team fights in the championship tomorrow night. I need rest." Daniel said.

"I know. Just give me thirty minutes. I wanna teach you something." Rion said. Daniel frowned a bit. He was too tired mentally and physically and quite frankly he's already used what Rion has already taught him. "Come with me to the dojo." Rion asked. Daniel sighed and turned to walk with Rion to the dojo. When they arrived at the dojo, both climbed out if their sneakers. Daniel put his bag down. "Alright, I watched your last fight and although you didnt get hit all that much, you were still leaving your self open. I want you to work on covering up." He said. Daniel sighed. "Come on put your hands up." Daniel does so. Rion begins teaching Daniel to cover up more and throw his punches. Daniel begins to get the hang of it and starts to like it. He finds his rhythm. Rion watches proudly. After the thirty minutes were up, Daniel stopped and went for his gloves. "What are you doing?"

"Feeling like another thirty minutes. Better get the pads." Daniel said Rion grabbed the pads. Daniel began hitting the pads while Rion held the pads for him. Rion made sure Daniel would protect himself. He made sure Daniel moved his legs and kept his hands up to protect himself. This went on for an hour. Daniel had fun. It felt good to have his uncle training him again. It felt like old times. Rion felt relieved that he and Daniel were good terms again. The two left the dojo smiling.

To Be Continued!!!!


	29. Chapter 29

Daniel (An X-Men Story)

Chapter Twenty-Nine-MMA Team Championship Match

Daniel and the fighters arrived at the Lion's Den facility with their duffle bags around four thirty. Tom gave them team winbreaker outfits. The guys changed into the winbreakers before grabbing their dufflebags and boarding the bus.

Both teams arrived at the collisium. The Lions arrived first and then the Dragons arrived second. Both teams noticed that there are sports analysts respresenting ESPN, UFC, Sports Center. All analysts are spread out throughout the collisium. There are corespondents in the back near the locker rooms, they have boths and their around the stands.

The event has drawn the attention of some of UFC's best fighters. Legends like Anderson Silva, Chuck Liddel, George St. Piere and many more. Even UFC president Dana White is in attendence. He did a quick interview talking about the prospect of new adventure in MMA. This is the first ever MMA tournament and so far its been successful. Dana noted that since this experiment has been a sucess then they plan to do this once a year. Only there will be more teams across the state to enter the tournament and their will be more training facilities being built for the teams to train so there will be a lot busy construction workers.

Both teams are in their perspective locker rooms. All the fighters were getting ready. The Lions are dressing in their black and gold trunks underneath black and gold karate gis. The Dragons are dressing in similar uniforms except theirs is red and black. Just as they had before, Donovan and the other fighters with the exception of Joey go over to Daniel and surround him. Daniel is placing his gloves on after his hands were taped up.

"This is it. We either win or we lose. Dont fuck this up Daniel." Donovan said to him. This time Daniel stood up and decides to answer him.

"You focus on your fight and I'll focus on mine. Maybe then you'll win." Daniel said as he and Donovan stare each other down before he walks away. Joey smirks.

Having arrived at the collisium, Rion, Logan, Alex, John Azari all make their way to their seats. Their seats were two rows back of the Lion's side of the cage. Logan and Rion especially liked their seats beause they could be there for Daniel when or if he needed them.

At the Mansion, Professor Xavier had gathered the kids in the lounge to watch the televised MMA Team Tournament Championship Match. They weren't the only ones.

At the Howlett house, Ororo, Megan, Emma, Scott Jean along with their children, Bobby, Rogue, Kitty, Jubilee, Evan and Peter are all there. With them are Tony, Steve, Bruce, Natasha, Sam and Clint. All are watching the televised fight. Ororo worried for Daniel but she'd get to see first hand how good he really is.

David and Candice are at the local cafe with Willie, Clay, Adreana, Tori, Hank and Shawn. He had asked the owner of the local cafe if he could turn the tv on to ESPN. The owner wanted to know why. He told him that his twin brother will be competing and wanted to watch it. The owner agreed and turned the tv to the sports channel. Everyone in the local cafe turned their attention to the tv.

Its time. Both teams make their way towards the cage to their persoective sides. Logan and Ororo from their perspective places watched Daniel proudly. Michael Buffer the legendary cage announcer begins to introduce the teams.

"Ladies and gentlemen. ITS TIME!!!!!!" He said as everyone cheers. "For the first time in UFC history sixteen teams eight from region A and eight from region B have been competing against each other moving on in the tournament. Two teams have surpassed their rivals in their regions to get to the championship match. Here we are and its time for these young warriors to get it on." He said as the audice gave a lowud applause. "Now lets meet the fighters starting with the Dragons. Fighting first, Lincoln Barnes, fighting second, Martin Tillman, fighting third, Dale Milton, fighting fourth, Kevin Glandville, fighting fifth, Leo Tomilson, fighting sixth, Sam Brumberg, fighting seventh, Stanly Hart and fighting eighth, Marco Sanchez." The crowd clapped for the introduction to the Dragons line up. "Now for the Lions team. Fighting first Walter Maddox, fighting second Billy Dillon, fighting third is Steven Nichols, fighting fourth is Chris Edwards, fighting fifth is Michael Kyle, fighting sixth Donovan Jones, fighting seventh, Joey Niles and fighting eighth, Daniel Howlett." The crowd clapped. Logan, Rion and the others clapped. At the mansion Professor Xavier and the students clapped while at the Howlett home, Ororo and others clapped for Daniel. David and his friends clapped. Adreana smiled proudly. "The fighters will go to their perspective sides to prepare for the first match up. Lets get it on." He said as the crowd clapped again. Michael Buffer got out of the cage.

"Alright Walter you got this. Handle business." Donovan said. Walter nods as he removes his gi. The trainers prepare him for his fight. Once done, Walter steps into the cage along with Lincoln.

First Fight: When the referee signaled for the two to fight, both fighters stood on their feet for a minute trying to trade punches. Lincoln seem to be a better striker than Walter because he was landing big shots. In the second round, Walter's legs began to wabble as he was taking shots that were connecting. Lincoln goes for the takedown. He maneuvered his body into a dominant position and immediately submits Walter. The Dragons take the first match and lead by thirty points. The Lions score ten points.

Second Fight: Billy and Martin stood up in their entire match. Both traded punches and kicks. Billy wins his match by knocking Martin out in the second round. The Dragons are still ahead by twenty points.

Third Fight: Steven immediately gains points with a takedown. From there he does his best to gain a dominat position. He postures up and begins raining down punches to Dale's face. Dale does his best to defend against the punches but it doesnt work. Soon the referee stops the match and its Steven who wins his fight. he gets his team tied sixty points a piece.

Fourth Fight: In the first round, Chris does his best to try taking Kevin down but a knee to the face knocks Chris out. Kevin wins the match and putting the Dragons back in the lead by twenty points.

Fifth Fight: Michael and Leo both stood up in the first round. Michael got the better of Leo in that round with a variety of kicks to Leo's legs and body getting his team ten points closer. The second round was much of the same only Michael took Leo down and submitted him. The Lions tie the Dragons once again. Eighty to eighty.

Sixth Fight: Donovan is pumped up to face Sam Brumberg. In the first round, Donovan went to work on Sam showing off his punching power. He caught Sam a few times but Sam was able to with stand the punches for the entire round. In round two, Sam immediately went for the take down and was successful. For the entire round does his best to submit Donovan but can't. The match went to Donovan because of the first round. the Dragons trail the Lions by five points.

Seventh Fight: Joey and Stanly face off. In the first round, Joey does his best to use his mauy thai background. Stanly however gets the best of him and takes him down. Stanly pulls Joey into an armbar. Joey does his best to hang on until the bell sounds for the second round but Stanly applies more pressure and a snap is heard. Joey screams out and taps officially losing his fight. Stanly apologizes to Joey who is in obvious pain. The trainers take him in the back. Daniel looks worried for Joey.

Daniel prepares himself to step into the octagon with Marco Sanchez. With the Lions down by twenty points, Daniel would have to score points in a major way to win this fight. Marco's already proven he can knock guys out. Daniel won't be that easy though and has shown how tough he is.

Daniel's family worried for him as they're eyes are glued to the fight. Logan, Rion, Alex, John and Azari are watching.

Eighth Fight: When the referee signaled for them to fight, Marco rushes at Daniel swinging at him. Daniel ducks and blocks Marco's punches and throws his own. Marco was stunned several times but is quick to recover. He lunges at Daniel trapping him against the cage hitting Daniel in the face with his punches. Daniel did his best to block him but it wasn't working. Daniel ducks and in this moment grabs Marco by his head and pulls him into him. Daniel uses his body to reverse the position and now traps Marco against the cage and rains down punches on Marco. Marco grabs Daniel into the clinch and head butts Daniel's forehead causing a cut above his left eye. Daniel grimaces and backs up holding his eye. Referee stops them and scolds Marco for head butting Daniel. Marco loses a point for that. He sends them to their corners before having the two fight commence. Marco goes after him again but Daniel stuns Marco with a kick to his face knocking Marco down. Marco quickly gets back to his feet and tries to take Daniel but Daniel pushes him away landing a right hook to Marco's cheek. He backs up just as the bell sounds. Both guys breathing heard head to their corners blood pouring from Daniel's face. Marco's face is bruised up. Marco managed to keep his team's lead at nineteen points.

Logan and the family all cheer for Daniel but are worried just the same. Ororo cringed at the sight of her son a bloody mess but is ok.

Second round of eighth fight: The second round began with Marco punching Daniel in the spot in which he cut him head butting him. Daniel pushed him away just put some distance between them. Both circled each other. Marco goes after Daniel again to punch him but Daniel blocks him and uses his own strikes landing on Marco's right eye which is now swollen shut. Daniel seizes the opportunity to take Marco down. He quickly mounts Marco and begins pounding Marco for all he's worth. Marco can't defend against the mount and turns over on his stomach giving Daniel his back. Daniel continued hitting Marco who covers up. Daniel's team now has the lead having used the take down and the berage of punches to Marco to gain the points needed to take the lead. Daniel positions his arm around Marco's neck and secures a rare naked choke hold. He sinks in the choke hold tight so much so that Marco has a hard time breathing. Donovan and the others including Joey who has come back to his team's corner to watch Daniel fight are all cheering Daniel on. They chant "tap" and Marco does exactly that. His hand hits the mat signaling that he has given up. Daniel has won his fight and secured the Lions as the winners of the very first MMA Team Tournament Champions.

Joey and the guys all cheer jumping up and down. Tom, Sam and the trainers all hugged. Daniel sits watching his teammates hug each other. The referee held up his hand. Logan, Rion, Alex, John and Azari all cheered happily for Daniel. Daniel watched the team for a moment and again feeling sick to his stomach he leaves the cage and heads to the locker room. He sits in front if his locker crying catching his breath. The doctor tends to his wounds making sure to wipe away the tears.

David and his friends all cheered happliy for Daniel. Adreana cried seeing Daniel's face and is worried for him. They comforted her. Ororo and the others includind the avengers were proud of Daniel. They were also impressed with his performance. Though they were worried for him, Daniel proved that he can fight with the beat of them. He could hold his own. Chuck one of the ESPN correspondents went into the locker room to speak with Daniel. Daniel was not in the mood. He asked he could do an interview with Daniel in a couple of days. Daniel agreed.

To Be Continued!!!!


	30. Chapter 30 updated

Daniel (An X-Men Story)

Chapter Thirty-Celebration

The fighters had gone back to the locker room to get their faces cleaned up. This was to give the staff at the collisium a chance to set up the stage for the ceremony. They were given Championship caps and t-shirts. Joey watched Daniel who had his head down in his hands. He felt bad for him. Daniel had won the match for the team and he was still treated like an outcast. What's worse was that no one cared.

The fighters placed on their winbreaker pants before heading back toward the arena. The crowd roared and heered for the Lions.

"Ladies and gentlemen, your first MMA Team Tournament Champions The Lions!" Michael Buffer said as the team makes its way up onto the stage. At a table across from them are their rewards. "The entire team will receive awards. To help present these awards, here is UFC president Dana White." He said as the crowd clapped.

"Thank you. I wanna first start off by saying you guys fought great fights. I wanna take a moment to congratulate the Drgaons for winning the regional championship. Now the Lions team did an amazing job. You guys fought hard and held your own and I'm proud of you all. All of you including the Dragon figjters have futures in the UFC if you want it. Now for the awards. First up is the belts. Each fighter will get a belt." He said as each other fighter was given a belt that resembles that of a UFC belt. "Next up are your championship rings. These are given out to the fighters and the head and assistant coaches. The trainers receive championship watches. Finally all the fighters coaches receive checks for one hundred thousand dollars. The trainers will receive fifty thousand dollars." He said as the rewards were handed out.

While the team took photos with each other, Tom, Sam and the trainers, they also did interviews with the media covering the event. Daniel took his belt trophy, ring, check and then headed back to his locker. He stuffed the check in his wallet then placing the trophy in his duffle bag. He put the ring on his finger. He zips up his duffle bag and headed out of the collisium. Standing in front of his car is Logan. With him are Rion, Alex, John and Azari.

"Hey champ." John said. Daniel said nothing he moved towards them.

"Congrats on winning the championship." Rion said.

"Yeah bro you were awesome." Azari said.

"Thanks." Daniel said. They could see he was feeling down. Not because he won but the fact that his teammates celebrated without him again. Thankfully the fights were over.

"Hey son." Logan said smirking.

"Hi dad." Daniel said.

"I'm proud of you." Logan said putting his hands on shoulders.

"Thanks." Daniel said.

"Don't you wanna stay and do interviews?" Azari asked.

"No. I just wanna go home." Daniel said sadly. "Besides, I'm doing an interview Monday."

"Cool." Azari said. The group climb into Logan's car.

"When do you leave for Football camp?" John asked Azari.

"Tuesday. It got pushed back a day." Azari said. Logan's car pulls off.

David had rushed home after dropping off Candice and Adreana at their homes. He wanted to be there to congratulate his brother on a great fight. Logan's car pulls up just as David is parking his motorbike. He gets off the bike and heads inside. Logan's car stops. The six exit his truck.

"Hey, where's the champ?" Scott is the first to speak.

"Right here." Logan said steppingg aside as Daniel enters the house. Scott and the others cheered. Ororo has a concerned look on her face just as Natasha, Emma, Megan, Jean and Kendall do. Oliver, James, Lucas, David and their cousins high five Daniel. Tony and his teammate were happy for Daniel.

"Great fight bro." Lucas said.

"Yeah you kicked major butt." Oliver said rubbibg his shoulders.

"You were totally awesome." James said.

"Didn't know you could fight that well." Scott said said.

"You were amazing." Emma said smiling despite her worry.

"Absolutely brilliant." Megan said.

"I dont know that much about the UFC but you may have a future competing." Jean said. Daniel smirked.

"Thanks everyone." Daniel said.

"You were great Danny but were worried for you." Kendall said.

"I'm proud you baby." Ororo said. Daniel smirked. He could see the worry in his face. He still felt bad.

"You were amazing in the cage." Natasha said smiling. Bruce nods.

"Impressive, though we've seen how cool you are up close." Steve said as Sam nods.

"You were great nephew." Tony said.

"Thanks." Daniel said somberly. He turns and heads to his room. He left his bagon the chair.

"What's with him?" Bobby asked.

"What happened?" Tony asked.

"Yeah why does he look so down?" Natasha asked.

"Well, after he won the championship for his team, the other fighters celebrated without Daniel." John said.

"Again?" Megan asked.

"This happened before?" Tony asked.

"Yeah. Daniel won his fight to help his team become regional champions and advancing them to the championship match. His teammates celebrated that win without him as well." Rion said.

"Oh poor thing." Jean said.

"He must feel aweful." Natasha said feeling bad for him.

"Thise jerks!" Rogue said folding her arms.

"Yeah." Kitty said.

"Its like no matter what he does he still feels..." Logan said trailing off. It just dawns on him how Daniel's feeling. Rion knew where he was going with his thought.

"What Logan?" Ororo asked.

"Left out." Logan said finishing his train of thought.

"Not just left out...alone." Rion said. "Yesterday, i watched him train and he was alone. The fighters have isolated him. Yet he kept training. Sign of true maturity." He said. Everyone sat there thinking. All feel bad that Daniel feels left out. Logan saw Daniel's bag was half open. He noticed the belt and trophy. He goes over to the bag and removes both the belt and trophy.

"You should take these to him." Logan said to David.

"Ok." David said taking the trophy, belt and Daniel's dufflebag and ran up to his room.

"We have to be there for him." Logan said staring at Ororo. "We have to make things right with our son."

"Yes we do." Ororo said as the other looked on.

David went up to Daniel's room. The door was open halfway.

"Danny, I brought up you're trophy and belt." David said. He heard the shower going and realized Daniel was bathing. He heard something else in the shower. Crying. Daniel was crying. Despite everyone congratulating Daniel on his team's victory, he still felt like an outcast and was treated as such. His family treated him as if they were ashamed of him and only now are feeling guilty for how they treated him, he didnt really have friends. He thought he did in Joey but that proved to be a lie and although he is dating Adreana it felt like at one point where he wouldn't have a girlfriend. He still felt like an outcast and was tired of it. He was alone and it hurt him deeply. David put his trophy and belt on his dresser. He turned and left the room. Daniel needed to be alone for a bit. David vowed to make things right with his twin.

To Be Continued!!!!!


	31. Chapter 31

Daniel (An X-Men Story)

Chapter Thirty-One: Daniel's Interview

Its Monday morning. The media is still buzzing at the collisium after the championship match. Daniel made his way towards the collisium on his bike. He told the security guard he was there to do an interview with Chuck Jones. The Security guard escorted Daniel to the conference room. He made his way into the conference room and notices all the equipment. He sees the two chairs and the cameras.

"Hello Daniel." Chuck Jones said entering the room. He extends his hand.

"Hi Mr. Jones." Daniel said his speech a bit slurred.

"Have you ever been interviewed before?" He asked.

"No never." Daniel said.

"Ok. That's fine. Everyone will be watching this interview so just be yourself and you'll do fine." Chuck said. Daniel nods. He wasnt nervous or anything. He just didnt want to look stupid. "Have a seat over here across from me." Chuck said as Daniel does. Another gentleman comes in the room and places a mini microphone on Daniel's shirt. One was placed on Chuck's shirt as well. The camera was turned on. "Are you ready Daniel?"

"Yes." Daniel said. The cameraman signaled for Chuck to start the interview.

"I'm sitting here with a member of the Team Tournament Champion. In fact this young man won the fight winning the championship for his team, Daniel Howlett. Daniel thank you for being here." Chuck said.

"Thanks for having me." Daniel said.

"First off congratulations on your victory." Chuck said.

"Thank you." Daniel said.

"Now, this is the very first UFC Team Tournament competition, how does it feel to be on the team that is the first to win a championship?" Chuck asked.

"It feels good. Winning I mean. I've never won anything before so this is cool." Daniel said.

"Tell me how did you hear about the tournament?" Chuck asked.

"I saw the flyer up on the wall of the gym and I kept it. I originally went into Tom Barrett's gym telling him that I wanted to train but he dismissed me. When I got the flyer I decided to tryout for the team." Daniel said.

"And I understand you won your qualifying fight?" Chuck asked.

"Yes." Daniel said. "But I wasn't chosen."

"No head coach chose you?" Chuck asked.

"No." Daniel responds.

"Why?" He asked.

"Because they didn't want to be associated with the local retard. The only reason Tom chose me was because the guy he originally picked got injured. I was the last resort." Daniel said. Chuck looked at him for a moment thinking how awful that was for him to have to go through.

"You said local retard, is that how you see yourself?" Chuck asked.

"No its how everyone else chooses to view me." Daniel said.

Everyone around town is watching this interview. Daniel's family is watching. Tom and the fighters are watching the interview. Everyone is glued to the tv including the entire avengers team.

"Why do you think that is?" Chuck asked him.

"Well, I have a slight speech problem. I use to stutter but not anymore. I learn things slower than most people but I can still function like a normal boy." Daniel said.

"Funny, I wouldn't have known that if we didn't speak. So Daniel tell me. Who trained you because you handled yourself well in the tournament." Chuck asked.

"I was trained by my uncle. His name is Rion Munroe. You know him best as the 'Magician'." Daniel said. Chuck nods.

"That I do." Chuck said. "He's a retired champion."

"Yes." Daniel said.

"So how many of your family members are experts in MMA?" Chuck asked.

"All of us. My brothers and sister are black belts. My mom is a black belt. My dad is not a black belt but he can fight. My uncles are trained as well." Daniel said as Chuck laughs. "My cousins train as well."

"So its safe to say its a family affair huh?" Chuck asked. Daniel nods. "Tell me about the journey through the tournament."

"It was ok. I was alone most of the time." Daniel said.

"What do you mean? You have seven teammates." Chuck asked.

"Yes but they spent most of the time away from me. I was isolated me from the team." Daniel said. Tom and the guys watched from the Lion's Den facility.

That must've hurt." Chuck said. Daniel nods looking away at his feet a moment before looking back up.

"Tell me about how you were treated." Chuck said.

"The guys wouldn't speak to me and if they did I was called retard or tormented and taunted. I know how people feel about me. I just kept training and when its over its over." Daniel said.

"Did Tom Barrett want you on the team?" Chuck asked.

"No. He didn't pick me. I was an after thought. He allowed the fighters to tease me hoping I would quit." Daniel said. "I didn't."

"What kept you going?" Chuck asked.

"I was use to being called retard and people not liking me so I didn't let it bother me." Daniel said.

"Even though it did?" Chuck asked. Daniel nods. "When you said people not liking you and calling you retard, was that coming from kids at school or at home?"

Daniel sighed a moment thinking about that question. He decides to respond being completely honest.

"A little of both. See, growing up, I always felt like the outcast of my family. My twin brother is normal and I wish I could be normal but I'm different. I was treated as such by my parents, my siblings teased me a lot, my cousins hardly spent time with me, my aunts and uncles barely spent time with me. When uncle Rye and uncle Alex would train me, I could tell that they were frustrated if I wasn't learning the leasons fast enough. So when I said I was use to being treated poorly, I met it." Daniel said. "Even my other uncle Tony Stark didn't want me around." He said hoping Tony was watching. Which he was.

"You know Tony Stark?" Chuck asked surprised.

"Yes. I even helped out him and his friends on a project." Daniel said making sure not to mention the attacks in New York city abd Sokovia.

"Wow!" Chuck said. "Do you have friends?" Chuck asked. Daniel thought about that for a moment.

"No." He reponds.

"What about a girlfriend?" Chuck asked smirking. "I'm sure a handsome guy like yourself can get girls." Daniel smiled coyly.

"Well there is a girl in the picture. At first she only went out with me on a dare but now we're totally into each other." Daniel said. Chuck laughed.

"It sounds to me Daniel that you've defied the odds that were set against you from day one. Wouldn't you say?" Chuck asked.

"I guess so. I'm just trying to live my life. All I ever wanted was to be accepted." Daniel said.

"A lot of us in the world want that. So as far as your UFC career is concerned, would ever want to compete professionally like your uncle did?" Chuck asked.

"Yes." Daniel said. "Mr. White, when I come of age I'm coming to see you." He continued as Chuck laughed.

"You heard it here first. Daniel it was a pleasure talking to you." Chuck said to him smiling.

"You as well." Daniel shaking his hand.

"And again congrats on a terrific fight." Chuck said.

"Thank you." Daniel said.

He left the interview feeling good. He had gotten a lot off his shoulders. All that was left was for him tell his family how he feels. He was sure by now they knew how he was feeling.

To Be Continued!!!!


	32. Chapter 32

Daniel (An X-Men Story)

Chapter Thirty-Two: Acknowledgement

Having watched Daniel's interview, Tom felt bad about how he and the fighters treated him. Daniel hadn't deserved that kind of treatment. All he wanted was to be accepted. The only one who seemed as though he truly wanted Daniel's friendship was Joey. Donovan and the other fighters were there making fun of Daniel's interview.

"Did you hear this loser?" Donovan asked. "'All I wanted was to be accepted.' Give me a break." He said mimicking Daniel as some of the other fighters laughed.

"Yeah. What a dork." Walter said.

"Its no wonder he has no friends." Michael said.

"The guy's a retard and blames everyone else for not liking him." Donovan said.

"You know you're a real asshole Donny." Joey said.

"What? I'm the asshole?" Donovan asked.

"Yes you are! And all of you are followers. None of you fucktards gave Daniel a chance. He's a nice guy and a good friend. He would've been a better teammate but you dimwitted aashats couldn't see past his disability. Imagine for one second if that was you. Wouldn't you want to be accepted by your peers?!" Joey yelled. No one responds. "The audacity of you idiots to tease and taunt him as if he doesnt matter." He said angrily.

"He didn't belong on this team!" Donovan said raising his voice.

"The same can be said for all of us. And last time I checked, the only one to win all of his fights was the same guy you call a retard." Joey said as the guys stood there listening. Joey was right. "We all had four fights. Daniel is four and O. Hell Marco Sanchez of the Dragons was unbeaten until he faced Daniel." He said defending a kid he still considers his friend.

"Joe, you've made your point." Tom said.

"Have I?! Coach, you especially didn't want Daniel on the team and proved it by allowing the teasing to go on. What was all that talk about winning as a team or losing as a team? Is it also ok to allow the team to tease the disabled kid?" Joey asked. Tom said nothing he looked down at his feet guilt written all over his face. "That kid has overcame adversity in his life and he did just that. The only reason we won anything was because of Daniel so instead of teasing him, you should be thanking him." Joey said walking into the lounge.

"He's right you know." Sam said. "If not for Daniel we don't win." Sam said heading back into the office. Tom and the fighters all sat there thinking about Daniel and feeling a little guilty of how they handled him. He deserved better.

Daniel rode his bike home after the interview. He felt good that he could get stuff off his chest but also needed to tell his family how he was feeling. He dropped his bike off at the front of the door and headed inside.

Inside the Howlett house, Ororo and Kendall along with Emma and Megan were preparing the meats for Logan to cook on the grill. While the kids were playing video games, Scott, Alex, Rion, Sam, Clint and Steve helped Logan with the grill. Logan thought it would be a good idea to have a bar b cue to celebrate Daniel's Championship.

Tony Stark is there and are invited to the bar b que. Tony sent a limo to pick up Bruce Banner. When he arrived, he and Tony helped Jean examine the serum. They are taking a break for the moment.

"He's home." Tony said.

"Hey Daniel." Natasha said smiling.

"Hey." Daniel said.

"That was a great interview Daniel." Professor Xavier said. Daniel nods.

"Are you alright?" Ororo asked.

"No." Daniel said as everyone stopped what they were doing. "What I have to say has been a long time coming." Daniel said. Everyone waited for him to finish.

To Be Continued!!!!


	33. Chapter 33

Daniel (An X-Men Story)

Chapter Thirty-Three: Father Son Talk

Daniel stood in front of everyone. They are waiting to find out what he has to say. Everyone was quiet. It was so quiet you could hear a pen drop. Daniel was trying to choose his words carefully.

"I know all you have seen the interview. For as long as I can remember, I've felt alone. I've felt like an outsider in my own family. I've felt as if nobody cared or loved me because I was different. I remember playing by myself while my twin brother had friends to play with. I remember watching my older brothers talking to other kids and wishing I could do the same thing. My sister and younger brothers enjoying themselves just care free. Things were difficult for me but I didn't let that stop me. Watching all of my brothers and sister intereact with each other looked so cool to me. I felt the same way seeing my aunts and uncles spending time with my siblings. It was even cooler seeing how my parents interacted with my siblings. I wanted to be apart of that." Daniel said then sighing feeling the tears threaten to fall down his face, he didnt care of they did. All he knew was that the pain and hurt was coming to the surface for the first time in a while. "Instead, I got pushed aside, treated like I was different, even called retard because I was different. You guys never wanted to spend time with me. I was the embarrassing retard that you kept at a distance. You all were ashamed of me. I walked around thinking that you all hated me.

"Daniel we love you." Kendall said. Daniel shook his head.

"For a long time, I thought no one loved me. I was alone. Kendall, you never spent time with me. It's always you and mom or you and dad, or you and our brothers. Hell our aunts and uncles preferred you over me." Daniel said.

"Thats not true Daniel." Rion said.

"Yes it is. The last and only time you spent with me was when I was training in the tournament. Before that you didn't even want to be bothered by me. That goes the same for you uncle Alex. You and uncle Scott never wanted to spend time with your retarded nephew." Daniel said as Scott and Alex felt bad. Rion did as well. He knew Daniel was right. "You guys woud choose to spend more time with my brothers. Aunt Emma, aunt Jean and aunt Megan were the same way. Whenever I'd try to help I was in the way."

"Daniel that's not true." Megan said.

"Really? Then how come you told my parents I was bothering you?" He asked her and got no response. What could she say? "Azari, you and John were pretty harsh to me. Lucas you hardly said anything cause you didn't care. James and Oliver could careless what happened to me. Even uncle Tony hated being around me." Daniel said.

"I don't hate you Daniel." Tony said.

"Then why did you ban me from visiting you?" Daniel asked the tears falling down his face.

"I banned you as punishment for lying to me and disobeying me." Tony said defending his actions.

"No you banned me because it was an excuse to not see your handicap nephew. You know the one you never sent a birthday or Christmas gift. The same one who helped you and the avengers save the world not once but twice." Daniel said. Tony and the others said nothing. He was right. "You never wanted to hangout with me but you enjoyed spending time with my siblings." Daniel said as the tears continued to pore down his face. "And there's you mom. You've spent my whole life patronizing me. On the first day of school I went to give you a kiss on the cheek and you turned your head. Thats not the first time you've done that by the way. I was never enough for you. You have a bond with everyone but me. You dad." Daniel said turning his attention to Logan. "Dad, I look up to you. You're everything I wish I could be. Strong, charming and great with your hands. I watch how close you are with my siblings, with my aunts and uncles, with mom. Even my cousins. You seem to favor spending time with everyone else but me."

"Daniel." Logan said feeling incredibly guilty.

"No dad, this is how I feel. How I've been feeling for a long time!" Daniel said poring his heart out. "That's why I never believed you when you said you were proud of me. I don't believe any of you who have said that to me. I have no friends. The coach of the MMA team I competed for didn't want me on the team. The fighters teased and taunted me. Only now do I know what's it like to have a girlfriend. All I wanted, all I've ever wanted was to be closer to my family. To feel like I matter cause I dont feel that way. No one has ever made me feel like I matter. Did that ever occur to any of you?!" Daniel yelled crying. They watched him everyone feeling so bad for this young man. "David, you're supposed to have my back. We're twins for christ sakes and you pushed me away. You were ashamed of me. I did nothing to deserve that. I would've had your back no matter what. The first day of school you told me to stay away from you and your friends. I did. Did it ever occur to you that all I wanted was to be closer to my brother?!" He asked. David didn't respond. "I need some air." Daniel said heading into the front porch. He sat down on the porch sobbing. Everyone in the living room felt Daniel's pain. Someone steps out onto the porch. Daniel didn't know who it was but has his head in his hands. The person sat next to him on the porch. When the person spoke, Daniel recognized the voice. It was his father.

"Its about time you and I had a heart to heart son." Logan said. Daniel picked his head up. "I had no idea you felt this way son. I knew you felt alone but I..." Logan said pausing for a moment. "Danny, I'm so sorry I hurt you. I'm sorry I made your feel like I didn't love you. I do love you son and I am proud of you."

"Then why make me feel like I wasn't good enough. You made me feel like I didn't matter dad!" Daniel said still crying.

"I truly am sorry. I never met to make you feel like that." Logan said and sighs. "There's something I never told you." Logan said as Daniel looked up at him. "When your mother was pregnant with you and David, I was happy. It met that I'd have children born to my bloodline. Don't get me wrong I love John and Azari as my own considering I adopted them but you and David came from me. Then you two were born. David was fine but you weren't." Daniel listened. "You was placed in an incubator to help you breath because you didn't get enough oxygen to your brain when Roh was pregnant with you two. We worried that you wouldn't make it." Logan said looking away sadly. Daniel had no idea how his birth affected his parents. How could he? He and David were infants at the time. "Then a miracle happened. You began to grow. You even let Roh breast feed you. When you got better and were able to be taken from the incubator, we were happy. Roh and I were gonna throw a bar b que." Logan said smiling. Daniel smiled a little. "Jean, Megan and Hank told Roh and I that you would have a difficult time as you got older."

"Difficult time?" Daniel questioned.

"They thought you'd have a hard time learning things. Roh and I had to prepare for that. It became obvious when you started talking. You're speech was slurred and you stuttered. Learning shapes, colors and numbers were especially hard for you. Roh and I decided that we needed to put you in a special school where you could learn at your own pace. It didn't help that you have mutant abilities. In fact it made it a bit more challenging. To our surprise you started picking up on everything easily. I thought you wouldn't be able to understand anything and that was my mistake." Logan said as Daniel stared at him.

"What do you mean?" Daniel asked.

"I underestimated you. I didn't believe you could handle yourself and for that I am sorry. Son, you proved to me that you could do anything you set your mind to and I'm am incredibly proud of you. You overcame all odds set in your way and that son is the true sign of maturity. You have more courage than I have ever seen. I mean it when I say I'm proud of you cause I am. I should've been there for you in the way you needed me to but son I do love you. More than you know." Logan said.

"Dad." Daniel said as he and Logan embraced in a father and son hug. Something that has been a long time coming. Logan kisses Daniel on his forehead. "I love you dad."

"I love you to my boy. My little champ." Logan said smiling. Daniel smiled. The two stood up. Neither noticed Ororo standing there. "Hey wanna take a drive with me?"

"Ok. Where we going?" Daniel asked.

"To pay that coach of yours a visit." Logan said. Daniel nods. "You wanna come with us darlin?"

"I still have to clean out my locker." Daniel said remembering that he left some stuff there.

"Sure. I have a few words for that coach." Ororo said. "Danny, come here baby." She said pulling Daniel into the tightest hug he's ever had from her. "I love you don't ever forget that you understand me?" She asked. Daniel didn't respond. Ororo pulls away a moment. She looked him in his eyes. She wiped away the left over tears. "I never met to make you feel like you didn't matter because you do. You matter to all of us. Ok." She said. Daniel nods pulling her into another hug. Ororo hugs him back. "Come on let's go give that coach a piece of our minds." She said as Daniel nods. They get into Logan's car and he pulls off.

Tom is still in the office going over paperwork. The fighters have since left with their bags having cleaned out their lockers. Since the tournament was over, they had no reason to be there. Since winning a hundred grand, the players no doubt were probably living it up. Daniel however has decided to put his money away cause he wants to go to college. He does have the grades for it.

Daniel was the only one who hadn't come back after the last match of the tournament to clean his locker. He thought about what Joey had said and knew he was right. He has been unfair to Daniel just because he has a slight handicap, he treated him like his life didn't matter and it truly was unfair. Especially since the one guy on the team who was teased and taunted was the only one to win all of his fights.

Logan's car pulled up the curb of the Lion's Den facility. Ororo was in awe because she's never been here before. All three got out of the car.

"Wow." She said looking up at the facility. "This place is huge."

"I know right. It's impressive." Logan said as they walk into the facility. "Hello!" Logan called out. "Anyone here?" He called out again.

"Hi." Tom said. He saw Daniel with two adults who Tom figured to be his parents. "Can I help you?"

"Yes we're the Howletts." Logan said.

"Daniel's parents?" Tom asked extending his hand to Logan who didn't take it. Ororo shook his hand.

"Are you the coach of the Lions?" Logan asked.

"Yes. I was fortunate enough to have Daniel on my team." Tom said.

"Fortunate? Huh. Funny, that's not how our son recalls it." Ororo said. Tom looked down at the floor. He knew his parents were here to scold him for his mistreatment of their son. "Honey go get your stuff from the locker. We wanna talk the coach alone." Ororo said as Daniel made a b-line for the locker room.

"Admit it, you didn't want my son on the team did you?" Logan asked.

"No I didn't." Tom admitted.

"Why?" Ororo asked firmly. Tom didn't answer. "It's because of his handicap isn't it?" She asked.

"Yes. When he first came to my gym wanting to compete, I dismissed him." Tom said.

"You didn't believe in him and what did he do? He defied the odds." Logan said.

"Yes he did." Tom said. "I know as his parents you have to protect him but..." Tom said before he's cut off by Ororo.

"You goddamn right we have to protect him. He's our son and we love him no matter what. We may have had our issues with him but we're still a family." Ororo said.

"You know what really pisses me off? It's not you dismissing him, it's the teasing and tormenting by the other fighters that went on and you said nothing about it." Logan said firmly. "You're the coach and you're supposed make sure your fighters, you're team is in unity. You didn't do that. Instead you allowed the others to intimidate my son!" Logan said angrily. He and Ororo are frowning hard at Tom who understood where they were coming from.

"You are no real coach. You allowed your prejudice to dictate your actions and that should never happen to anyone ever again." Ororo said.

"You're right." Tom said. Logan and Ororo stare at him a little surprised. "I allowed the other fighters to tease and torment him." He said as Daniel comes out of the locker room and back towards the entrance. "Daniel, I owe you an apology. I didn't want you on the team because of your handicap. The only reason you were on the team was because you were the only fighter left that was available. I didn't stand up for you when I should've because I wanted you to quit on your own but you didn't. You took the verbal taunting like the true champ you are and for that impressed. You went out there and fought hard winning all of your fights. You outshined all of us and I just want to say I'm sorry for how I treated you. You didn't deserve that and I truly am sorry. You are the embodiment of a champion." Tom said. Logan and Ororo looked on surprised by Tom's words.

"Thanks coach." Daniel said as he turned and headed out of the facility.

"He's a good kid." Tom said to Logan and Ororo.

"Yes he is." Ororo said as she and Logan turned and left the facility. Tom sighed. Daniel's parents are tough and had a right to question his method coaching. Tom wasn't perfect. Hell no one was but he can honestly say he was wrong about Daniel. And like everyone who underestimated Daniel are regretting it.

"Thanks guys for having my back." Daniel said from the back seat of Logan's car.

"Anytime honey." Ororo said to him smiling.

"Champ." Logan said laughing. The kind of laughter that a proud father has. Logan and Ororo are proud of the fact that three of their sons won champships. They are very proud parents.

To Be Continued!!!!


	34. Chapter 34

Daniel (An X-Men Story)

Chapter Thirty-Four: The Bar B Que

Logan, Ororo and Daniel all arrived back at the Howlett home. Standing on the porch are David, John and Azari. Everyone had remained behind talking amongst each other about how they've treated Daniel. Some felt guilty because they suspected that he had felt bad about their mistreatment of him. Others had no idea. Logan, Ororo and Daniel get out of the car.

"There they are." John said watching his parents and brother walk towards the house.

"Where were you?" Azari asked.

"We went to see Daniel's coach." Logan said.

"We had a few choice words for him." Ororo said.

"Danny we need to talk to you." David said.

"Roh, why don't we go inside and let the boys talk." Logan said.

"Ok." She said taking Logan's hand as they made their way into the house.

"About what you said earlier." Azari said. "You really believe we hated you?"

"Yes. You didn't exactly show me that you loved me." Daniel said.

"We don't hate you bro. We're sorry for giving you shit all these years but that was us being your brothers. It didn't mean that we didn't love you. We give each shit to." John said.

"It's true. J teased me the first time he caught me jerking off." Azari said as they laughed. Daniel smiled at that. "See Look you're smiling. It's funny." He said as they giggled. "We love you bro. Don't ever forget that. We're family and we always have each other's back."

"Thanks bro." Daniel said as he hugged Azari tight and did the same for John.

"You were right about me." David said. Daniel looked at him. "I feel bad about pushing you away. I had to come to terms with why I was pushing you away and you were right. I was ashamed of you. Not anymore."

"What changed?" Daniel asked.

"I watched you and how you went about your everyday life. Even though you were alone you just kept on going as if it didn't bother when it really did. I felt bad. I don't hate you. I'm impressed with you. I'm also proud of you. I'm sorry I hurt you." David said. Daniel pulls David into a hug.

"I love you guys." Daniel said.

"We love you to." John said. "We better get inside before dad starts grilling." He said as they made their way into the house.

"Danny!" Oliver said running over to give his big brother a hug. He was followed by James and Lucas.

"You know we love you right?" Lucas asked.

"I didn't before." Daniel said.

"We do love you bro." James said.

"We never met to make you feel like we don't care. We do." Oliver said.

"I know it know. I love you guys to." Daniel said smiling high fiving his brothers. His cousins rubbed his shoulders and hugged him. He got kisses on the cheek from Rogue, Jubilee and Kitty as well as handshakes from Bobby and Peter.

"Why didn't you tell me you were feeling this way?" Kendall asked.

"It wasn't something I could talk about." Daniel said.

"I asked you if you were ok. You could've said no or something. You didn't have to walk around feeling bad Danny." Kendall feeling bad. Daniel could tell she had been crying. She loves her siblings. She may not show it all the time but she does love them. Daniel was no exception. She did love him. Another part of her felt guilty for hurting him.

"Kendall I..." Daniel said but was caught off guard by his sister's tight hug. She sobs on his chest. Daniel held her tight.

"I'm sorry." She said to him.

"It's ok." Daniel said kissing her forehead. Logan and Ororo watched smiling. The two pulled away.

"Daniel, we wanna say sorry to you as well." Steve said. Daniel was puzzled by his apology.

"Yeah we were a bit unfair to you and you helped us save the world twice. That makes you an honorary Avenger." Natasha said. Daniel smiled.

"You're one cool little dude." Sam said as Daniel smiled.

"Yes he is." Clint said.

"Cool thanks guys." Daniel said smiling. Emma, Megan Jean kissed Daniel in the cheek.

"We love you so much nephew. Don't ever forget that ok?" Jean said.

"Yes ma'am." Daniel said hugging them.

"D, we love you. We always have and always will." Scott said.

"That's right. Sometimes you'll make us mad but that doesn't mean we hate you. So no more thinking that ok?" Alex said. Daniel nods. They hugged him.

"Come here you." Rion said as he hugged his nephew.

"Daniel." Tony called to him. Daniel looked over at him. "I'm sorry I pushed you away. I knew you wanted to talk and instead of talking you about what you were going through, I pushed you away and for that I'm sorry. But I didn't ban you from Avengers tower because I hated you. I banned you for disobeying me. The ban would eventually be lifted." Daniel smirked as Tony kept going on.

"I'm sorry I disobeyed you." Daniel said.

"Apology accepted." Tony said as he and Daniel embraced in a hug. The others chuckled.

"We all love you very much Daniel." Professor Xavier said. Daniel leaned down and hugged him.

"Hey Logan you getting that grill going? We gotta celebrate your boy's championship." Tony said.

"YEAH!!!" Everyone cheered in unison.

"We'll set up the backyard with the tables." Lucas said as he, James and Oliver along with their cousins went and set up the patio furniture in the backyard.

The doorbell rang. David opened the door and in steps Candice, Tori, Willie, Clay, Hank, Shawn and Adreana.

"Hey I invited friends. Hope that's ok?" David said.

"Of course." Logan said.

"Hey Danny." Willie said going over to high five him. "Yo That was some fight." He said.

"Yeah man you kicked major butt." Hank said.

"Impressive dude." Shawn said. All are smiling.

"I knew you'd win." Tori said.

"Yeah, that Marco whatever his name is had nothing on my man." Adreana said she and Daniel embraced in a long lustful kiss. Everyone smirked. Ororo was shocked but smiled.

"Damn bro. Don't suck her face off." David said earning a chuckle from everyone in the room.

"We're having a bar b que out in the backyard. You guys are more than welcomed to join us." Ororo said.

"Thanks Mrs. Howlett." Willie said. "You guys need any help carrying the stuff outside?" Hank asked.

"Yes please. Emma said as Shawn, Clay and Hank move to help them carry the trays of food outside. Candice and Tori helped bring the beverages outside. Steve, Sam Clint went to help Logan with the grill. Natasha helped Jean, Emma and Megan with making the adult beverages.

"I'm proud of you Danny." Adreana whispered to him while he had his arms wrapped around him.

"Really?" Danny asked.

"Yeah. Well I was worried at first cause I didn't wanna see you hurt but you kicked his ass. I was cheering you on from the cafe." Adreana said smiling as Daniel chuckled.

"If I had known you wanted to come I would've gotten you a ticket." Daniel said to her.

"It's cool. So are you going to be doing this every year?" She asked.

"Not sure." Daniel said. "UFC president Dana White had yet to decide on whether to have these competitions every year. If they do I'll compete." He said as the two made their way outside onto the patio.

As Logan got the grill going, everyone was enjoying the celebration. Logan chatted with Clint and Scott while cooking. Natasha chatted with the ladies including Ororo. Azari's friends had come over. They congratulated Daniel on his fight. Tina Azari's girlfriend is there as well and also congradulated Daniel on his win. David is tossing the baseball with Clay while Hank and Willie chatted. Candice and Tori were chatting. Daniel and Adreana were canoodling. His arm is around her shoulder.

Joey had driven his car up to the mansion and parked his car along with the other guests. He got out of his car and made his way towards the Howlett home. Tom had given Joey Daniel's home address telling him to talk to Daniel. So here he is. He knocked on the door. Rion opened the door.

"Hello." Rion said greeting Joey who stared at him in awe. He was face to face with Rion Munroe the Magician. Retired UFC champ. "How can I help you?" He asked.

"Hi. I'm my name is Joseph Niles...uh Joey. You can call me Joey." Joey said.

"Ok." Rion said still unsure what this kid wanted.

"I can't believe I'm face to face with the Magician." He said.

"You a fan?" Rion asked.

"Yes sir. I train to. That's why I'm here. I'm here to see Daniel." Joey said.

"You're a member of the Lion's team aren't you?" Rion asked.

Yes sir. The champs." Joey said excitedly.

"Come in." Rion said as Joey came into the house. "We're having a bar b que outside to celebrate."

"Cool." Joey said as they made their way out into the backyard.

"Hey everyone we have a guest." Rion said with his arm around Joey. Everyone turned their attention towards the two. "This is Joey Niles. He is a member of the Lions team. The champs. He's Daniel's teammate." He said as Daniel looked over at him frowning.

"Hey everyone." Joey said smiling as everyone waved to him.

"Why are you here?" Daniel asked.

"I was hoping to be reunited with my best friend." Joey said Daniel looked away a moment. "Danny, I know what Donovan said to you about you being here for my amusement. He was lying to you. You are my friend. I'm sorry for how the other fighters treated you but that wasn't me. Please take me back bro." Joey said as everyone looked at him. Everyone looked over at Daniel. They can tell Joey was being sincere. He genuinely wanted Daniel's friendship. Daniel moves towards him and the two embrace in a hug.

"It's ok bro. I knew Donovan was a dickhead." Daniel said.

"We bros again?" Joey said.

"Of course." Daniel said as they high fived smiling. "Let me introduce you to my family. You've met my uncle the champ Rion. His wife Megan, my uncle Alex Summers, his wife Emma, my uncle Scott, his wife Jean, my siblings John, Azari, David, Kendall, Lucas, James, Oliver, my cousins, Uncle Tony and his friends, my brothers Azari and David's friends, this is Professor Charles Xavier, he's like a grandfather to me." Daniel said. Professor Xavier nods. "Over there are Bobby, Kitty, Rogue, Peter and Jubilee. Over here are my parents Logan and Ororo Howlett. My girlfriend Adreana." Daniel said introducing his expanded family.

"Nice to meet you all." Joey said waving to everyone.

"Nice to meet you to Ororo said. "Would you like to join us?" She asked.

"Sure. If that's alright?" Joey said going to sit next to Daniel, David and his friends.

"Yes it is." Ororo said.

"Any friend of our family is a friend to us. Join us." Professor Xavier said smiling. Joey joins in on the conversation. He and Daniel talk about their fights.

The celebration continued. Joey got to chat with everyone. He could see how lucky Daniel was to be surrounded by so many people who love and care about him. He got to chat with Rion and Alex. He got to chat with Daniel's siblings. Both guys even gave a demonstration of their skills after Rion and Alex set up the mat. All ate their food and drank heir beverages. Daniel watched everyone around him and smiled. He truly is blessed and now knows he is loved. He spots Ororo in the kitchen getting more ice. He goes into the kitchen.

"Hey ma." Daniel said.

"Hey honey." Ororo said.

"Need some help?" He asked.

"Sure." She said as Daniel lifted the cooler up with ease. "Shouldn't you be hanging with that cute girlfriend of yours?" She asked smirking. Daniel smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah but she could wait a moment. I wanted to talk to you." Daniel said.

"What's up?" Ororo said. Daniel put his arm around Ororo's shoulder and kissed her forehead. Ororo smiled at the gesture. "What was that for?"

"I never apologized to you and dad for my behavior." Daniel said. Ororo was confused. "I should've told you have I felt but I didn't know how. To be fair, you did everything you could to make things up to me and I acted like a tool. For that I'm sorry." Ororo's face softened.

"Oh baby, you don't have to apologize. I hope you know now that you can talk to me and you're father about anything. Right?" She asked. Daniel nods. She kissed his cheek. "Let's get this outside for your father has a shitfit." She said as Daniel chuckles. He picks up the cooler and takes it out back. Ororo follows. Everyone continued to enjoy themselves with good food, deserts, beverages and great conversation. Things were looking up for The Howlett clan and their extended family.

To Be Continued!!!!!


	35. Chapter 35

Daniel (An X-Men Story)

Chapter Thirty-Five: Happy Birthday

Five months Later.

"Can't wait til Thursday." Daniel said while driving home. He and David both got their driver's licenses a week ago and have since taken turns driving the old Jeep Logan has rebuilt.

"Why?" David asked.

"Because it'll be thanksgiving." Daniel said. "Dreana and I could spend some alone time together."

"Bro, let me ask you something?" David asked. Daniel smiled. He knew what David wanted to ask him.

"You wanna know if Dreana had sex yet?" Daniel said. David nods. Daniel smiled coyly. "We fooled around."

"Fool around how. I hate it when you do that by the way." David said as Daniel chuckled.

"We're twins bro." Daniel said. David nods.

"When you said you fooled around with Adreana what did you mean?" David asked.

"Well, she let me ginger her, I sucked her breasts and she let me go down on her." Daniel said.

"Wow! Shit! That's fuckin hot bro." David said chuckling. "Did she do anything to you?" He asked.

"She went down on me." Daniel said. David laughed.

"Yes! Way to go bro!" David said cheering for his brother.

"Has Candice done things to you?" Daniel asked.

"Over and over and over again." David said almost bragging. Both brothers laughed.

"Hey what's this?" Daniel said pulling up into the drive way. He parked the car. He and David got out of the car. It was quiet.

"Why is it so quiet?" David asked.

"Not sure. Maybe we should go inside." Daniel said as he and David made their way into the house. "Where is everyone?" He said turning on the lights.

"SURPRISE!!!" Everyone yelled scaring the daylights out of both brothers. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!" They shouted. Both David and Daniel smiled relieved to see their aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings and parents there.

"You guys scared the crap out of us." David said as they laughed.

"Oh come on I don't see any crap in your pants." Azari said as they laughed.

"Happy birthday my big boys." Ororo said giving them both hugs.

"Thanks mom." Daniel said.

"Thanks ma." David said.

The doorbell rang and it was Candice, Adreana, Willie, Clay, Shawn and Hank. Rion let them in.

"Happy Birthday bros." Lucas said.

"Yeah, happy born day." James said.

"You two are officially old enough to drive." Oliver said. "Happy Birthday and I'll need a ride tomorrow."

"Yep." Daniel said.

"Thanks bros." David said.

"Happy birthday guys." Kendall said hugging her brothers.

"Thanks sis." David said.

"Happy Birthday little bros." John said as he and Azari high five both Daniel and David.

"Thanks guys." Daniel said.

"Happy birthday boys." Logan said to them.

"Thanks dad." Both Daniel and David said in unison.

"Cake and ice cream for everyone." Ororo said as she began cutting the cake. Megan, Emma and Jean all gave David and Daniel kisses wishing them happy birthdays. Rion, Alex and Scott high fived them. They shook their cousins' hands wishing them a happy birthday.

"What up playas?" Willie asked shaking David's Daniel's hands.

"Happy Birthday bros." Shawn said high fiving both brothers. Clay and Hank followed suit.

"Thanks fellas." David said.

"Happy birthday baby." Candice said giving David a sultry kiss.

"Thank you baby." David said sensually. He and Candice have already had sex.

"Happy birthday honey." Adreana said kissing Daniel."

Thanks love." Daniel said as she smiled. Adreana liked it when he called we that.

They all sat down around the table having cake and ice cream. Around the table are as followed: Logan who has Ororo in his lap, Rion, Megan, their twins, Scott, Jean, their two boys, Alex Emma, their son, Kendall, Lucas, James, Oliver, Daniel, Adreana, David, Candice, Clay, Shawn, Willie, Hank, Azari and John. All enjoyed the food as well as the cake and ice cream. Daniel responded to Joey's birthday message. The two were practically inseparable. They had began training together after UFC president Dana White announced that The MMA Team Tournament will take place every year and will expand to twenty teams instead of sixteen. Also Rion was asked to be the head coach of the Tigers. Rion accepted but wanted both Daniel and Joey to be on the team. They both agreed. Joey loves training with Daniel, Rion and Alex.

"Its time for the presents." Ororo said as everyone gathered to give David and Daniel the gifts they got them.

"Open ours first." Lucas said as James and Oliver handed David and Daniel their gifts. Both brothers opened their gifts.

"Wallets." David said smiling.

"Identical wallets." Daniel said smiling. His was brown while David's was black. Both are leather.

"Yeah now you can get rid of those pieces of crap you two call wallets." James said as they laughed.

"Thanks guys." David said.

"We love it." Daniel said.

"Open mines next." Kendall said handing both brothers their gifts. Both Daniel and David open their gifts.

"Cool shirts." Daniel said pulling a black t-shirt from the box. On the shirt is a drawing of both brothers standing side by side. David's shirt was in blue.

"So cool. We love it. Thanks sis." David said.

"Yeah thank you." Daniel said. She hugged them both.

"Open ours next." John said. He and Azari got together to get both David and Daniel $100 gift cards to modells inside birthday cards.

"Gift cards to modells." Daniel said smiling. They smiled. "Oh we definitely going shopping."

"Thanks bros." David said shaking their hands.

"Anytime." John said.

"Remember you can only spend the amount listed." Azari said as they laughed.

"We got it bro." David said smiling.

"Ok. We're next." Candice said as she hands David his gift. "The was such a good idea that Adreana and I got you two the same thing."

"Yes. We hope you two like it." Adreana said. Both David and Daniel opened their gifts which were small chains with heart pendants. Inside the heart pendants are small pictures of each couple.

"Baby this is dope. I love it." Daniel said to Adreana. Logan and Ororo smiled.

"You really like it?" She asked. Daniel pulled her into a kiss.

"What about you David? Do you like it?" Candice asked.

"Yes I do. This is so cool." David said as Candice smiled. "Thank you babe."

"You're welcome." She said they kissed. Logan and Ororo continued smiling proud of their boys.

Jean and Scott got them matching championship soccer jersies, Alex and Emma got them tablets, Rion brought Daniel UFC equipment with a small space for him to work out and got David baseball equipment. Megan gave them cards with money in it. Tony had brought them both expensive sunglasses and Professor Xavier had gotten them their favorite comic books. They received cards from their cousins as well as John's friends.

"We love our gifts guys thanks." David said as Daniel nods.

"You still haven't received gifts from mom and dad." Kendall said.

"Yeah. Can't wait to see what they got you." Azari said.

"Well boys, here are my gifts to you." Ororo said handing her boys two bags which looked to be filled with clothes. Both began going through their bags.

"Woah! Mom this is cool." Daniel said looking at blazer. Also in the bag are dress shirts, dress pants, ties, jeans, shoes and sneakers. She got the same for David. Ororo smiled.

"Yeah this is amazing. Thank you mom." David said.

"Thanks ma." Daniel said going over to hug and kiss their mother.

"You're welcome my babies." Ororo said smiling. She was happy they loved their gifts.

"As cool as you're mother's gifts were, mines might just top hers. Not that we're competing of course." Logan said smirking. Ororo rolled her eyes as the others laughed. "Ok, So I know that you two are old enough and have officially acquired your driver's licenses, I thought it be fitting that John and Azari aren't the only other drivers in the house. Outside your mother and me that is." Logan said. David and Daniel looked at each other. "Why don't we step into the garage." He said. David and Daniel ran to the garage. They were followed by the others. When they got the garage, there sat two identical renegade jeeps. One in black and the other silver.

"HOLYCRAP!!!!" David exclaimed excitedly.

"DAD!!!" Daniel exclaimed just as excited. "This is awesome!"

"Hell yeah!" David said smiling. Both could not keep the smiles off their faces.

"Happy Birthday boys." Logan said handing them the keys to their new rides.

"Thanks dad!!!" Both said in unison hugging him.

"Ok who gets the black who gets the silver?" Logan asked.

"I want the silver one. It's sleek." David said.

"Yeah but the black one is sexy." Daniel said both examining their new rides.

"I'm glad you guys like it." Logan said.

"Is it ok if we take the cars out for spin?" Daniel asked.

"It's yours. I suggest taking your girlfriends with you." Logan said. "They won't like being left behind." He said as Candice and Adreana looked at them.

"Come on girls. Let's ride." David said as Candice got into his silver Jeep while Adreana got into Daniel's black Jeep. Both started the engine having put on their seatbelts. David pulls out of the garage first going down the drive way followed by Daniel in his ride. Ororo and Logan smiled watching their boys drive off in their new rides.

Both Ororo and Logan put Daniel and David's gifts in their rooms. Logan wouldn't tell Ororo but he secretly put a box of condoms in the glove compartment of Daniel and David's cars in the event that they had sex. Logan is a realist knowing that his boys might lose their virginities. Well Daniel might. David has already given in his v-card. Ororo didn't want her boys having sex as it could lead to unwanted pregnancies and the revelation of their mutant abilities. That's been the one thing they've kept a secret up to this point.

Both David and Daniel drove up to look out point. It's a great spot for making out and having sex. David has been here once before with Candice. It's where they first had sex. Azari and John had told David about this spot. He passed on the knowledge to Daniel who actually followed him. David's car stops. He parks the car and turns on the radio. He and Candice go at it. Daniel parked his jeep across from David's.

"So." Daniel said nervously.

"So." Adreana said just as nervous. Both of them have fooled around but never had intercourse.

"Thank you." Daniel said.

"For what?" Adreana asked.

"For this." Daniel pointing to his chain. He slipped it on when no one was looking.

"Your welcome." Adreana said smiling. Daniel leans in and begins kissing her. She pulls back a moment. "Uh Daniel if we do this, we should use protection." She said.

"Right." Daniel said leaning over to check the glove compartment for protection. He spots the small box of Trojans. He pulls a condom out of the box. Lucky for him his dad was smart enough to ensure his boys protected themselves. "Ok. Hey if you're not ready we don't have to do this."

"You don't want to?" Adreana asked.

"Of course I do. I just don't want to feel like I'm forcing you." Daniel said. Adreana smiled leaning over to kiss.

"You're such a sweetheart." Adreana said.

"I aim to..." Daniel said before his mouth is envolped by Adreana's. The kiss intensified. Daniel can feel his jeans tighten. He pulls a moment. "You wanna get in the back?

"Ok." She said then climbing into the back seat. Daniel follows. The two begin kissing again. Adreana pulls Daniel's sweat shirt over his head exposing his chest. Both knew it was cold outside but the heat of their bodies was causing the car to warm up. Daniel was hard. He wanted her. But Adreana had other ideas in mind. She unbuckled his pants pulling his zipper down and exposing his torque underwear. His cock hard. She reached into his underwear fondle his penis. Daniel moans. She pulls his cock out and takes him into her hot mouth. Daniel threw his head back. He couldn't believe his girlfriend was giving him oral. He had done it her on more than one occasion and quite masterfully at that. Where he learned how to perform oral on a woman is unknown but was amazing at it. Adreana wasn't bad either. She was bobbing her head up and down in hic cock causing pleasure beyond anything Daniel has ever felt. He feels his climax nearing but it's at that moment that Adreana stops. She pulls away and slides her panties off. She removes her shirt exposing her black laced bra. Her thirty-six D-cup breasts looked delicious to Daniel. She took her bra off exposing her breasts. Daniel had seen them before and wanted more. He pull his pants along with his underwear down to his knees exposing his cock. He places the condom onto his cock. Adreana lays back on the seat separating her legs. Daniel has full view of her pussy and his cock beyond hard. He leans into her with his cock at her entrance then slowly enters her. Adreana grimaced at the feeling of his cock inside of her. She's never had sex so this was new to her. Plus, Daniel's cock is about nine inches long. The kid was huge.

"You ok?" He asked.

"Uh-huh. Keep going." She said as Daniel entered her further. He gets six inches into her. He moans feeling how tight she is. She grabs his arms feeling the pressure of his cock inside of her. He begins to find his rhythm. Adreana groans as her hymen tears. Daniel goes deeper into her moaning causing more pleasure. Adreana lets the pain subside and pleasure takes hold. She's enjoying Daniel inside of her. He leans over and takes right tit in his mouth as he plunges his dick in and out of her. Adreana continues moaning loving how Daniel is making her feel. Soon both cryout as they climaxed together. He pulls out of her. Then pulls the condom off his cock. It's filled with his load. He rolls down the window and tosses the loaded condom. Daniel is still hard. "Let me take care of that for you." She said leaning over and sucking him off until Daniel shot another load all over lips. Daniel moaned loud. "How'd that feel?" She said licking her lips tasting him.

"Amazing." Daniel said catching his breath. He opened up the glove compartment and removed napkins. He wiped the seat down. Adreana got redressed. Daniel pull his pants back redressing again. "You Ok?"

"Yeah. You were great." Adreana said having no one else to compare him to.

"You to." He said as the two kissed. Daniel got a taste of his self. Both smiled. He looked out the window after having gotten back to the front seat of the car and saw that David and Candice had left. He and Adreana were into their own sexual experience that they hadn't noticed David and Candice leave. "Let me get you home." He said starting the ignition and pulling off. Both had their seat belts on.

After dropping off Adreana, Daniel drove home smiling. Not only had his family not forgotten him on his birthday but he had sex for the first time. He couldn't wipe the smile from his face. He pulls up the drive way towards the Howlett home entering the garage making sure to park right next to David's car. The Howlett garage can hold eight cars that's how big it is. So far, Logan's truck, Ororo's Prius, John's Ford Explorer, and Azari's dodge wrangler are parked in the garage along with David's and now Daniel's Jeep. The only other car parked in the garage is the family van. Daniel enters the house. Sitting in the living room are Logan, Azari, John and David.

"Hey, why did you leave us?" Daniel asked David.

"What you didn't need me there. You looked like you were having some fun if you know what I mean." David said smirking.

"Is he right son? Did you have fun?" Logan asked as Azari, John and David laughed. Daniel smiled. They all laughed.

"I knew it."John said smirking.

"How was your first time?" Azari asked.

"It was amazing." Daniel said.

"Bet you can't wait to do it again?" Logan asked.

"Oh yeah. I was still hard even after I...you know." Daniel said.

"Yeah we know." John said.

"Listen son, now that you, David, Azari and John are sexually active, I want you to use the condoms. I'm not ready to be a grand dad, I know your mother isn't ready to be a grandma and we have to keep our being mutants a secret." Logan said. "You got it?"

"We understand dad." John said.

"And you keep the fact that you're sexually active from your mother." Logan said as they looked over at Daniel.

"Ok." Daniel said.

"This was a great birthday right Danny?" David asked smiling.

"Best birthday ever." Daniel said smiling as they all giggled.

To Be Continued!!!!


	36. Chapter 36

Daniel (An X-Men Story)

Chapter Thirty-Six: Epilogue Chapter

Since the events of the tournament, things have looked up for the Howlett family.

John is a junior in college. He has committed himself to teaching as a major wanting to shape young minds much like his mother. He also teaches at the dojo with Alex.

Azari is a senior in high school and there are several colleges looking at him for their football program. Azari also had to get his grades up and thanks to Tina has done exactly that. His team is undefeated yet again and hasn't been defeated in three seasons.

David is a sophomore along with Daniel. David has been practicing his pitching and batting skills in hopes of leading the team to another championship.

Lucas, Kendall, James and Oliver continue to thrive in school. Lucas' grades are great, Kendall always gets good grades and James and Oliver are doing well.

UFC President Dana White contacted Daniel having saw his interview and wanted to invite Daniel and Rion to the facility in Vegas to tour. Daniel was on hand when the decision was made to have a full MMA Team Tournament. Instead of their being sixteen teams, there will be twenty. Four more teams were added. Rion was asked to coach a team called the Tigers. He asked Daniel to be apart of the team. Daniel agreed. He also asked Joey to join as well. Joey agreed. When it came time for the coach's to pick their fighters, Rion only had to pick six fighters instead of eight. Tom didn't have a strong team without Daniel and Joey. Rion was given a facility called Tiger Claw dojo. His team would train there.

Ororo has become the assistant principal with Professor Xavier still in charge. Megan and Jean still teach but are the resident doctors on call. Scott teaches auto mechanics. Logan brought an auto body shop and has began fixing cars. This is his passion. Logan is a simple man. His wife, children, cigars and beer. He's good to go. Simple man. Fixing, repairing and building cars is not only a passion but a great way to make money. His shop is doing well.

As for Daniel, things have gotten tremendously better for him. His relationship with his family has been at its best. He engages in conversation with them, they tease him but he doesn't take it personally instead choosing to tease back and laugh. His relationship with Adreana has been great. The two have had sex more times than they can count. He told her that he will be competing in MMA Team Tournament for his uncle's team the Tigers and won't be able to have sex so they getting it all out before the tournament starts. He and Joey have become closer even hanging at each other's houses. Rion has presented Daniel with his black belt having tested him. His relationship with Tony has improved as well. Tony invited Daniel back to the Avengers tower where he still hangs out with some of the avenger members.

Yes things have gotten better for the youngster. Daniel proved that he can do anything he set his mind to despite everyone under estimating him. A lesson everyone can learn.

The End


End file.
